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TOULOCN  QUARTER,  CAIRO. 


Frontifjnece. 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES 


BY 

JEREMIAH  LYNCH 


WITH  SIXTEEN  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW  YORK 

SCRIBNER  AND  WELFORD 

1890 

(All  rights  reserved) 


PREFACE. 


These  slight  sketches  were  mostly  written  at  Cairo 
during  the  autumn  of  1889,  and  the  first  months  of 
the  present  year.  While  there  I lived  in  daily 
companionship  with  Europeans  who  were  intimately 
acquainted  with  Egypt,  and  with  the  natives  them- 
selves. 

Therefore  I believe  that  I know  the  Nile  country 
better  than  the  average  visitor,  to  whom  a single 
month  is  a long  stay.  Yet  I am  not  an  Egyptologist, 
and  only  desire  to  induce  others  to  visit  a land  that 
I was  loth  to  leave.  For  them  I have  herein  simply 
written  the  experience  and  observation  of  a man 
from  the  New  World. 

J.  L. 


London,  April,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 


I. 

An  Eastern  Day  ... 

...  1 

II. 

Old  Cairo 

12 

III. 

Hassan  and  Hussein 

24 

IY. 

Cairo  and  the  Cairenes 

33 

V. 

The  Copts  and  Hermits 

44 

YI. 

Sakkara  and  Memphis  ... 

52 

VII. 

The  Pyramids 

58 

VIII. 

The  Book  of  the  Dead  ... 

82 

IX. 

An  Arab  Marriage 

...  103 

X. 

The  English  in  Egypt  ... 

114 

XI. 

The  English  in  Egypt  ( continued ) 

...  132 

XII. 

Hanim 

148 

XIII. 

Up  the  Nile 

...  167 

XIV. 

To  Luxor 

188 

XV. 

Thebes 

...  206 

XVI. 

Down  the  Nile 

226 

XVII. 

Old  and  New 

...  241 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Touloun  Quarter,  Cairo  ...  ...  Frontispiece 

A Street  in  Cairo  ...  ...  ...  To  face 

Cairo — The  Citadel  ...  ...  ...  ...  „ 

The  Pyramids  ...  ...  ...  ...  „ 

Kameses  II.  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  ,, 

Coffin  of  Amenhotep  I.,  18th  Dynasty  ...  „ 

An  Arab  Marriage  ...  ...  ...  ...  „ 

Egyptian  Troops  ...  ...  ...  ...  „ 

A Daughter  of  Egypt  ...  ...  ...  „ 

IIanim  ...  ...  ...  ...  ...  „ 

The  Dahabeeyeh  ...  ...  ...  ...  „ 

The  Sakkieh  ...  ...  ...  ...  „ 

Thothmes  III.,  18th  Dynasty  ...  ...  ...  „ 

Suleyman  ...  ...  ...  ...  „ 

Deir  el-Bahari  ...  ...  ...  ...  „ 

The  Temple  of  Abydos  ...  ...  ...  „ 


FAGP 

12 

36 

64 

72 

100 

108 

142 

154 

162 

170 

194 

200 

210 

218 

228 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

AN  EASTERN  DAY. 

Behind  my  Cairene  house  in  the  Abbasiyeh  quarter, 
lay  the  garden,  a very  wilderness  of  flowers,  which, 
though  possessing  none  of  the  fragrance  of  temperate 
climes,  were  brilliant  and  various  in  colour.  Among 
them  were  myrtles,  creeping  jasmines  with  white 
blossoms,  mandarins,  and  commoner  orange  trees 
covered  with  dark-green  glossy  leaves,  and  the 
slender  acacias  lifting  feather-like  foliage  against 
the  intense  sky.  Beyond  the  limit  of  my  grounds, 
which  were  bounded  by  others  whose  gay  show  of 
roses  equalled  my  own,  was  a tiny  ruined  mosque, 
erected  long  ago  over  the  body  of  some  almost 
forgotten  Moslem  saint.  And  farther  still,  a grove 
of  palms  rose  in  a stately  group,  typifying,  by  their 
height  and  peacefulness  in  the  windless  air,  the 
quiet  lofty  contemplation  that  is  the  natural  growth 


2 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


of  the  mystic  land  of  Egypt.  Beyond  them  once 
more  were  other  groves  by  the  Fresh- water  Canal, 
in  which  I could  discern  ever  and  again  the  single 
mast  of  some  trading-vessel  or  the  twin  spars  of  a 
dahabeeyeh  with  its  white  lateen  sail  moving  between 
the  vegetation  on  the  water’s  edge.  And  farther, 
again,  were  other  mosques  and  palms,  and  at  last 
the  yellow  sand  just  where  the  sky  became  hazier 
and  of  a whitish  blue,  as  it  drooped  over  the  ever- 
lasting desert.  After  looking  from  the  front  of  my 
Eastern  home  upon  the  white  roads  and  whiter 
houses,  this  garden  was  an  oasis  of  greenery  and 
rest. 

The  mansion  consisted  of  but  one  story,  and  the 
numerous  rooms  had  stone  floors.  Only  the  salon 
was  carpeted,  the  bedrooms  having  two  or  three 
Turkish  rugs  in  each  one.  The  balcony  in  front  of 
the  salon  looked  out  on  the  fountain  that  threw 
yellow  Nile  water  into  the  basin  in  the  early  morn- 
ing and  late  afternoon.  All  the  windows  and  doors 
were  provided  with  lattice-like  iron  shutters,  which 
were  closed  in  the  evening,  leaving  the  windows 
open.  This  permitted  the  cool  night  air  to  circulate 
through  the  apartments  that  became  so  heated  during 
the  day,  and  yet  kept  the  house  safe  from  the  robbers 
who  prowled  everywhere. 

I rose  in  the  morning  at  seven  and  took  a cold 
douche.  The  water  was  so  muddy,  however,  that 


AN  EASTERN  DA  Y 


3 


one  sometimes  seemed  cleaner  when  he  went  into  the 
bathroom  than  when  he  emerged.  For  they  have 
no  tanks  nor  cisterns  on  the  tops  of  the  houses,  and 
the  water  comes  in  pipes  straight  from  the  saffron- 
coloured  Nile.  It  is  always  filtered  for  drinking 
and  cooking,  and  no  house  is  complete  without  a 
little  chamber  containing  several  immense  jars 
through  which  the  water  slowly  percolates  into 
vessels  beneath.  Coffee,  in  small  cups  without  sugar 
or  milk,  is  brought  by  Hassan  immediately  after 
coming  from  the  bath,  and  is  drunk  before  dressing. 

The  morning  is  spent  in  writing,  reading,  walking 
in  the  garden,  and  at  10.30  breakfast  is  ready.  It 
consists  usually  of  oranges  and  mandarins,  rice, 
mutton,  eggs,  and  poultry,  with  a very  few  vege- 
tables, and  those  tasteless  and  flaccid.  The  cost  of 
living  in  Cairo  depends  on  a person’s  tastes.  The 
expense  of  servants  is  very  slight.  A fair  Arab 
cook  can  be  engaged  for  twelve  dollars  monthly,  and 
other  servants  from  five  to  ten  dollars  each.  They 
eat  native  food,  consisting  only  of  Arab  bread  and  a 
few  vegetables,  without  meat,  which  the  house  pro- 
vides. A household  of  three  servants,  living  in- 
cluded, need  not  cost  over  fifty  dollars  per  month. 
The  rent  of  a good  furnished  house  during  the 
summer  and  autumn  will  be  perhaps  as  much  more. 
Of  course  there  are  servants  and  servants.  A good 
Greek  or  French  cook  cannot  be  hired  under  forty 


4 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


dollars  a month,  and  it  is  very  hard  to  find  an  Arab 
who  can  prepare  a European  dish  with  any  degree 
of  satisfaction.  For  myself,  I found  it  difficult  to  get 
any  appetite.  It  was  so  fearfully  hot  in  September 
and  October  that  I had  Indian  curries  on  the  table 
every  day.  Red  pepper  was  a delight,  and  Tabasco 
sauce  a tearful  blessing. 

My  principal  business  between  midday  and  three 
o’clock  was  to  try  and  keep  cool.  Every  native  sleeps 
during  those  hours,  but  it  is  impossible  for  the 
stranger.  If  I lay  down  on  the  divan  with  a hand- 
kerchief over  my  face,  I was  nearly  suffocated.  If  I 
took  it  off,  the  flies  and  mosquitoes  held  high  carnival 
on  my  prostrate  form.  The  mosquitoes  took  a 
special  liking  to  me  as  a new-comer,  and  if  they 
could  not  get  at  my  head,  they  contented  themselves 
with  my  hands  and  wrists.  They  made  life  miser- 
able to  me  for  a couple  of  months,  until  I got  inocu- 
lated, and  I never  could  arrange  the  mosquito 
curtains  of  my  bed  but  that  some  one  mosquito 
would  awake  me  with  his  musical  serenade  and 
sharp  sting. 

There  is  no  gas  supplied  in  the  city,  except  to  the 
principal  hotels  and  in  the  Ismalieh  quarter,  where 
the  richest  Europeans  reside.  Where  I lived,  among 
the  Egyptians,  we  had  no  such  luxury,  and  were 
fain  content  with  candles  and  lamps.  It  made  not 
very  much  difference,  however,  for  I never  thought 


AN  EASTERN  DAY. 


5 

of  reading  or  writing  in  the  evening.  The  busy 
mosquitoes  appropriated  all  the  space  below  and 
around  the  hanging  lamp,  and,  after  one  or  two 
attempts,  I let  them  remain  in  supreme  possession, 
and  went  out  myself  into  the  wide  road  in  front  of 
the  fountain  and  garden.  There  usually  sat  Mdlle. 
Rose,  her  father  and  mother,  and  some  friends.  We 
drank  Mocha  coffee  and  mestiche  as  we  smoked 
cigarettes  and  the  narghileh  until  long  after  mid- 
night. They  never  talked  of  anything  out  of  Egypt, 
though  they  asked  me  many  questions  about  America, 
concerning  which  country  they  had  some  vague, 
indefinite  ideas.  When  I said  I was  six  days  and 
nights  travelling  from  San  Francisco  to  New  York, 
they  expressed  doubt,  astonishment,  and,  I am  afraid, 
a little  incredulity.  When  one  could  go  from  Cairo 
to  Alexandria  in  less  than  four  hours,  how  could  it 
be  possible  to  journey  nearly  a whole  week,  and  in 
the  night  time  too  ! They  could  not  understand  it, 
and  I am  afraid  that  I left  Egypt  without  being 
able  to  fully  convince  Monsieur  Raphael  of  my 
veracity  in  that  statement. 

What  do  they  talk  of,  one  might  ask?  Well, 
of  very  little.  All  the  Orientals  sit  and  drink,  look 
wise,  and  speak  but  seldom.  Of  the  last  battle  of 
Toski  perhaps,  and  how  little  Cucolo,  Mdlle.  Rose’s 
black-skinned  maid,  was  found  wandering  hungry 
and  thirsty  among  the  dead  bodies  the  next  day. 


6 


EG  YPT1AN  SKETCHES. 


Her  father  had  been  killed,  and  the  poor  twelve- 
year-old  girl  was  trying  to  find  him  amid  the  two 
or  three  thousand  bodies  that  lay  mangled  on  the 
field.  One  of  the  Egyptian  officers  had  found  her, 
brought  her  to  Cairo,  and  presented  her  to  Rose. 
They  told  me  that  fifteen  hundred  half-starved 
wretches  had  been  distributed  by  the  victors,  over 
Lower  Egypt  practically  as  slaves. 

Then  Yida  Ruscia  would  tell  me  of  the  prosperity 
of  Cairo  in  the  days  of  Ismail,  when  sixty  dollars 
had  been  given  for  the  hire  of  a carriage  to  take 
a party  of  revellers  over  to  the  Gizerah,  to  one  of 
the  Khedive’s  masked  balls ! when  ivory,  and  gum 
arabic,  and  slaves  came  down  the  Nile  from  the 
Soudan  in  immense  caravans  of  camels,  and  every 
one  in  Egypt  was  rich. 

Now  everything  was  changed.  They  had  lost 
Khartoum  and  the  trade  of  the  Soudan.  Ismail 
was  gone,  and  the  cold-blooded  English  were  there, 
dismissing  good  Moslems  from  their  easy  official 
places,  and  filling  the  vacancies  with  young  men 
from  London.  The  present  Khedive  was  a good 
man,  but  had  no  power  or  influence  in  his  own  land. 
He  was,  as  his  father  had  said  of  him,  “ without 
heart  or  head.” 

These  thoughts  would  be  delivered  at  intervals 
and  in  fragments  during  the  long  evening,  and 
there  would  come  long  silences  when  our  whole 


AN  EASTERN  DA  V. 


party  would  sit  quiet  and  motionless,  looking  at 
the  bright  stars  and  brighter  moon,  as  we  listened 
to  the  music  of  the  water  falling  into  the  basin. 
But  these  strictures  on  Tewfik  Pasha,  the  present 
Khedive,  are,  I think,  unfounded.  He  is  not  a 
Mehemet  Ali,  it  is  true ; but  it  is  unnecessary — the 
English  will  relieve  him  of  all  trouble  or  uneasiness 
respecting  his  realm. 

All  that  is  really  asked  of  the  Khedive,  and  all 
that  he  does,  is  to  go  through  the  various  official 
duties  required  of  him  in  a proper  manner,  like  a 
good  actor  on  the  stage.  And  he  executes  them 
right  royally,  as  in  the  olden  days.  Nothing  is 
omitted  that  might  cause  invidious  comparisons  with 
past  splendour.  When  a consul-general  of  one  of 
the  great  Powers  is  first  formally  presented  to  the 
Khedive,  he  is  granted  a reception  which  makes 
him  quite  an  imposing  personage.  A state  carriage 
is  sent  to  his  residence,  with  a second  one  for  the 
attaches  of  the  office.  Mr.  Eugene  Schuyler,  our 
representative  in  Egypt,  was  kind  enough  to  suggest 
that,  for  one  day  at  least,  I might  be  constituted  an 
attache,  and  so  witness  the  presentation  to  the 
Khedive.  Therefore  it  happened  that,  with  Mr. 
Grant,  I entered  the  state  carriage  following  that 
of  the  consul-general’s,  and  we  were  escorted  to 
the  Khedivial  palace  by  outriders  and  a troop  of 
Egyptian  cavalry. 


8 


EGYPTIAN-  SKETCHES. 


At  the  instant  that  the  consul-general  descended 
from  the  carriage  at  the  palace-gate  a salute  of 
twenty-one  guns  was  fired  from  the  citadel.  The 
consul-general  was  received  standing  by  the 
Khedive,  surrounded  by  his  Cabinet,  as  if  he  were 
the  most  distinguished  ambassador  extraordinary 
or  minister  plenipotentiary.  It  seemed,  indeed,  like 
playing  at  royalty,  but  it  is  well  known  that,  to  the 
Oriental  mind,  nothing  impresses  so  much  as  an  out- 
ward display  of  pomp  and  state.  The  reception- 
chamber  was  decorated  on  the  sides  with  magnificent 
Persian  rugs,  hung  like  tapestry  on  the  walls,  but 
the  floor  was  simply  of  polished  woods.  After  the 
Khedive  had  saluted  Mr.  Schuyler  and  the  attaches, 
and  we  were  all  seated,  men-servants  brought  into 
the  hall  pipes  of  sandal-wood,  filled  with  fragrant 
Leutakia  or  Syrian  tobacco.  The  pipes  were  over 
six  feet  long,  and  the  bowl  rested  within  a silver 
salver,  placed  on  the  floor.  A kneeling  attendant 
was  ready  to  replenish  the  pipes  with  coals  and 
tobacco.  The  mouthpiece  was  of  amber,  and  just 
above  where  it  joined  the  sandal-wood  was  one  mass 
of  diamond  incrustations.  There  must  have  been 
over  a hundred,  many  of  large  size,  in  each  pipe. 
The  Khedive,  his  Cabinet,  together  with  the  consul- 
general  and  attache's,  sat  in  a square,  gravely  taking 
a few  whiffs,  and  never  saying  a word.  The  whole 
scene  reminded  me  very  much  of  the  councils  in 


AN  EASTERN  BA  V. 


9 


the  book  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  when  the  aborigines, 
covered  with  wampum,  sat  sedately  in  a circle  and 
smoked  the  calumet  of  peace.  How  very  odd  it  is, 
that  the  customs  of  the  ancient  Orient  should 
find  a parallel  among  the  savages  of  America ! 
After  the  pipes  came  coffee,  served  in  delicate  china 
cups  that  were  embedded  in  silver  holders  of  elabo- 
rate filigree  work,  also  studded  with  brilliants. 
When,  a few  minutes  afterwards,  the  consul-general 
departed,  he  found  outside  the  palace  a regiment  of 
troops  drawn  up  in  line,  who  saluted  the  representa- 
tive of  the  American  Republic,  while  the  band  dis- 
coursed the  familiar  melody  of  “ The  Star  Spangled 
Banner.”  The  servants  of  the  Khedive  wore  long 
black  frock-coats,  and,  even  in  the  audience-chamber, 
did  not  remove  their  fez.  Nor  did  the  Khedive  and 
his  Cabinet.  The  only  people  uncovered  were  the 
foreigners.  The  consul-general  was  escorted  to  his 
mansion  with  the  same  state  as  before,  the  people  on 
the  streets  stopping  to  see  the  richly  decorated  state 
carriages  and  the  plain  black-robed  men  within.  A 
hundred  dollars  was  distributed  by  M.  Schuyler  in 
gratuities  to  the  coachmen,  escort,  and  attendants  of 
the  Foreign  Office.  Formerly  the  Khedive  gave  to 
each  representative  of  the  Powers  an  Arabian 
courser,  richly  saddled  and  caparisoned,  and  also 
a splendid  Damascus  scimitar,  with  ivory  handle 
ornamented  with  gold.  But  the  phlegmatic  Eng- 


IO 


EGYPTIAN-  SKETCHES. 


lish  have  stopped  this  bit  of  Oriental  magnificence 
and  generosity,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  all  the  foreign 
consuls-general.  Of  course  the  American  consuls- 
general,  by  a law  of  Congress,  are  not  allowed  to 
receive  gifts  of  any  kind  from  foreign  potentates, 
but  I understand  that  some  of  our  consuls  in  Egypt 
in  the  past  have  conveniently  forgotten  this  re- 
striction. 

After  the  carriages  were  dismissed,  we  went  in 
more  humble  vehicles  of  our  own  to  make  a formal 
call  on  Riaz  Pasha,  the  prime  minister.  There 
again  we  drank  coffee  and  smoked  cigarettes. 
Hardly  had  we  entered  Schuyler’s  residence  on  our 
return,  when  Riaz  Pasha  was  announced.  He  came 
to  pay  the  customary  civility  of  a personal  visit  to 
a consul-general  who  has  been  received  by  the 
Khedive.  More  coffee  and  cigarettes.  The  capacity 
of  these  Egyptians  for  both  is  marvellous.  Where 
we  drink  beer,  wine,  and  spirits,  they  drink  only 
coffee.  Cups  and  cups  of  it  go  down  their  throats 
like  drops  of  water. 

When  the  good  old  man,  who  is  kind  and  gentle- 
hearted,  had  left,  we  drove  out  across  the  river  to 
the  Gizerah,  as  it  is  called.  On  the  west  bank  of 
the  Nile  lies  the  drive,  circling  inward  as  it  goes 
down  the  river.  This  is  a charming  bit  of  land, 
bathed  on  every  side  by  the  waters  of  the  Nile,  and 
encompassed  with  groves  of  tall  acacias  and  taller 


AN  EASTERN  BA  V. 


1 1 

palms.  It  is  the  exact  site  of  the  battle  of  the 
Pyramids,  when  Napoleon  inspired  his  troops  by  his 
spirited  invocation  to  those  gigantic  masses,  whose  out- 
lines are  so  vivid  in  the  clear  atmosphere,  though  ten 
miles  away.  The  Gizerah  is  the  fashionable  drive 
of  Cairo,  and  every  afternoon  it  is  thronged  with 
carriages,  horses,  and  donkeys.  The  Khedive,  with  a 
slender  escort,  always  appears  on  Fridays  and  Sundays, 
followed  at  a little  distance  by  his  only  wife,  the 
Ivhedivia,  who  is  in  a closed  carriage,  with  a deep  veil 
covering  her  face  wholly.  No  one  walks  in  Cairo 
in  the  hot  autumn  days,  and  it  is  not  necessary  on 
the  score  of  economy.  A couple  of  horses,  with 
driver  and  carriage,  costs  only  forty  cents  an  hour, 
and  less  in  proportion  for  a longer  time. 

We  drove  homeward  across  the  Nile  in  the 
shadowing  palms,  while  the  sun  glittered  brighter 
than  ever  behind  the  mighty  Pyramids.  Its  glow 
shone  upon  their  summits,  and  touched  their  sides 
with  gold,  even  while  the  bases  that  fronted  us 
became  heavily  purple.  They  alone  were  dark  in 
all  the  landscape,  for  as  the  sun  went  down  shining 
to  the  last  as  though  it  were  midday,  the  full  moon 
came  up  from  the  east  over  the  minarets  and  mosques 
of  Cairo,  flooding  the  silent  land  with  silver. 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OLD  CAIRO. 

I have  wandered  for  many  a pleasant  hour  through 
the  old  quarters  of  Cairo.  Go  as  often  as  one  will, 
there  is  ever  something  new  to  be  seen ; either  a 
costume  or  a yashmak  that  for  its  novelty  or  strange- 
ness causes  one  to  stop  and  gaze  with  interest.  There 
are  no  sidewalks,  and  the  streets  are  very  narrow. 
The  houses  are  built  of  limestone  rock,  with  the 
second  and  third  stories  in  many  instances  of  wood. 
These  are  placed  close  together  right  on  the  side  of  the 
little  street,  and  there  are  no  gardens  nor  trees  of  any 
kind.  Many  of  the  larger  buildings  have  courtyards 
in  the  middle,  where  flowers  and  palm-trees  grow  in 
luxuriant  profusion.  But  these  courtyards  cannot 
be  seen  from  the  street,  for  the  entrance  to  them  is 
by  a narrow  low  door  of  thick,  heavy  wooden  beams, 
clamped  with  iron  rivets  going  through  from  side  to 
side.  The  doors  are  like  those  of  a castle,  and  give 
one  a faint  idea  of  the  state  of  Cairo  three  or  four 
hundred  years  ago,  when  these  buildings  were  con- 


street  in  Cairo.  To  face  page  12. 


OLD  CAIRO. 


r3 


structed.  Each  one  was  a fortress,  with  windows 
high  up,  protected  with  heavy  iron  bars  like  a prison, 
and,  with  its  solid,  stout  walls,  must  have  been  secure 
against  several  score  of  the  Arab  troopers.  They  lap 
over  the  street  at  each  additional  story,  and  there- 
fore, if  there  are  two  buildings  opposite  of  three  or 
four  stories,  their  roofs  approach  so  near  that  a man 
could  quite  easily  leap  over  the  street  from  one  to 
the  other.  Across  this  space  is  stretched  an  awning 
when  it  is  hot,  and  people  pass  to  and  fro  in  the 
shade  beneath. 

All  the  shops  are  small,  and  are  about  two  feet 
above  the  street  level.  There  is  never  a chair,  and 
the  merchant  sits  cross-legged  on  the  floor,  which  is 
covered  with  matting,  while  heaps  of  stuff  from 
Damascus,  Smyrna,  and  Bombay  lie  thrown  around 
in  utter  confusion.  When  they  are  taken  from  the 
little  shelves  in  the  early  morning  to  show  to  a 
customer,  they  are  not  put  back  again  until  he  closes 
the  place  at  the  setting  of  the  sun.  Silks  and  cottons, 
yashmaks  and  habbarahs,  tarbushes  and  turbans, 
white  light  linens  from  Benares  and  scarlet  Persian 
carpets  from  Ispahan,  all  lie  on  the  floor  in  delightful 
disarray.  And  the  Arab  merchant  placidly  smokes 
his  narghileh,  with  its  fragrant  Egyptian  tobacco, 
gazing  serenely  upon  the  passers-by.  A few  Ameri- 
can drummers  are  needed  there  to  wake  them  up, 
though  I fancy  that  they  would  have  to  change  the 


14 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


people  before  they  could  alter  their  customs,  now 
become  sacred  by  the  sanction  of  centuries. 

Next  door  to  this  shop  would  very  likely  be  a 
laundry.  The  laundry  consists  of  a number  of  tubs 
sunk  in  the  ground,  which  are  filled  with  bluing. 
Clothes  are  put  in  these  vats  to  rest  for  a time, 
and  are  afterwards  carefully  washed  and  rinsed  in 
the  street,  in  front  of  the  door.  This  occasions 
perhaps  a little  discomfort  to  the  camels  and 
donkeys,  as  well  as  the  people  who  pass  and  repass 
in  an  endless  line ; but  the  thirsty  air  and  ground 
soon  absorb  the  water. 

Passing  along,  one  comes  to  a little  place  where 
candies  and  sweet  cakes  are  sold.  It  is  surrounded 
by  dirty  barefooted  children,  whose  clothes  are  torn 
and  draggled,  and  whose  eyes  and  unwashed  faces 
are  covered  with  a swarm  of  flies  that  they  hardly 
make  an  effort  to  drive  away. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  unpleasant  features  of 
Cairo  and  Egyptian  life.  Half  the  native  children 
have  ophthalmia,  especially  up  to  the  age  of  ten. 
Perhaps  it  is  hereditary  and  comes  from  some  taint 
in  the  blood,  for  it  is  nearly  universal.  I suppose, 
if  the  children  were  kept  cleaner  and  their  eyes 
frequently  bathed,  that  the  disease  would  not  be  so 
common,  but  now  it  is  frightful  and  very  disagreeable 
to  the  visitor.  Nevertheless  many  of  these  little 
wretches  bad  a para  to  buy  some  sweets,  and  after- 


OLD  CAIRO. 


i5 


wards  sat  down  and  ate  them  in  the  street  amid 
the  dust,  the  camels,  and  the  donkeys,  while  their 
less  happy  playmates  looked  on  with  envy.  The 
Arab  who  supplied  all  these  wonders  was  a 
benevolent-looking  old  fellow,  with  an  immense 
white  turban.  At  least,  I should  think  it  might 
have  been  white  at  one  time.  He  said,  “ E-zi-ak  ” 
(good  day),  in  the  blandest  of  tones,  and  very 
kindly  offered  me  some  of  his  goodies  at  the  end  of 
his  thrice  dirty  fingers,  appearing  grieved  when  I 
could  not,  with  all  my  philosophy,  bring  myself  to 
eat  them. 

There  now  passes  a Persian  with  his  sheepskin 
hat.  He  is  nearly  as  dark  as  the  Soudanese  with 
whom  he  saunters  along.  The  summer  heats  of 
Teheran  are  almost  as  severe  as  those  of  Assouan. 
The  Soudanese  wears  a red  fez,  swathed  in  folds  of 
white  linen.  Behind  them  stalks  with  measured  tread 
the  Bedouin  of  the  desert,  in  his  picturesque  dress, 
with  his  veil  of  blue  and  white  and  green  dropping 
gracefully  upon  his  shoulders.  It  protects  his  face 
and  eyes  from  the  blinding  rays  of  the  sun,  reflected 
by  the  yellow  desert  sands  as  he  spurns  them 
beneath  the  feet  of  his  Arabian  courser  or  swift 
dromedary.  How  intensely  black  are  his  beard  and 
eyes ! The  Bedouin  never  seems  to  become  gray, 
even  at  an  advanced  age.  With  his  fierce  visage 
and  wandering  life,  he  is  the  Bed  Indian  of  the 


1 6 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


East.  Amid  this  meeting  in  the  streets  of  Old  Cairo 
of  the  peoples  of  every  land  in  the  Eastern  world, 
with  all  their  different  costumes  and  customs,  the 
Bedouin  is  by  far  the  most  attractive  and  imposing. ' 

He  has  preserved  his  mode  of  life  and  methods 
of  existence  from  the  days  of  Abraham.  No  one  has 
sought  to  wrest  from  him  his  desert  sands,  and  he 
has  been  left  tranquil  upon  the  wastes  where  never 
a tree  nor  a shrub  darkens  the  brightness  of  the  mid- 
day sun.  From  sand-hill  to  sand-hill  he  wanders, 
pitching  his  tent  where  his  flocks  and  herds  may 
find  a little  stagnant  water.  He  lives  by  pillage 
and  rapine,  yet,  when  he  has  eaten  salt  with  his 
guest,  no  royal  monarch  is  safer  or  more  respected  in 
his  own  palace  than  is  the  Howardji  under  the  tent 
of  the  Bedouin.  Even  in  Cairo  he  is  alone,  as  in  the 
desert.  He  walks  slowly  and  proudly  on  with  erect 
mien,  looking  neither  to  right  nor  left,  speaking  to 
none,  while  all  the  others  quietly  make  way  for  him. 

Here  comes  a wagon  with  only  two  wheels  on  a 
dead  axle,  drawn  by  a donkey.  It  has  no  sides,  and 
seated  upon  the  few  planks  that  make  the  bottom 
are  no  less  than  eight  women.  They  have  their 
feet  tucked  up  under  them,  their  faces  covered  with 
the  impenetrable  veil  and  yashmak,  and  they  chatter 
away — well,  as  only  women  can  chatter  when  a 
number  of  them  get  together.  They  are  the  wives 
and  servants  of  some  Arab,  who  has  sent  them  out 


OLD  CAIRO. 


17 


for  an  airing.  It  seldom  happens  that  the  man 
who  has  several  wives  and  odalisques  has  not  also 
ample  means  to  supply  them  with  luxuries  such 
as  the  harem  beauties  usually  enjoy  ; but  once  in 
a while  there  is  some  poor  Lothario  who  has  yet 
managed  to  have  quite  as  many  wives  as  his  richer 
brethren,  and  this  is  his  cheap  and  safe  way  of 
giving  them  recreation.  lie  cannot  afford  to  keep 
eunuchs,  so  he  sends  them  out  together,  and  cer- 
tainly they  are  safer  guards  for  each  other  than  a 
whole  cohort  of  eunuchs  would  be.  They  are  so 
closely  veiled  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  the  ser- 
vants from  the  wives,  though  the  former  are  always 
black  girls  from  the  Soudan.  Nothing  can  be  seen 
but  the  eyes,  and  I have  discovered  that  all  eyes 
look  the  same  under  the  deceiving  yashmak ; one 
cannot  tell  the  difference  between  sixteen  and  sixty. 
In  fact,  as  the  negro  girls  are  the  youngest  and 
have  perhaps  the  most  lustrous  orbs,  one  would  be 
very  apt  to  select  from  that  standpoint  as  the 
Zuleika  of  the  harem,  some  thick-lipped,  flat-nosed, 
big-footed  girl  from  Ethiopia.  But  they  go  along 
past  the  Arab  cafe,  on  which  they  look  curiously,  as 
if  it  were  some  demon’s  cave.  Tired  of  sight-seeing, 
I enter  and  order  a cup  of  that  fragrant  black 
Mocha  coffee,  which  is  the  delight  and  the  nepenthe 
of  the  East. 

The  cafes,  or  saloons,  of  Egypt  are  divided  into 

c 


i8  EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 

two  classes  : those  that  simply  supply  coffee,  cognac, 
and  cigarettes ; and  the  ones  that  sell  hashish  in 
addition  to  coffee  and  cognac.  Hashish  is  a kind  of 
tobacco  made  from  hemp,  and  is  in  its  effects  and 
uses  a good  deal  like  opium.  It  is  smoked  in  pipes, 
just  as  the  Chinese  in  Shanghai,  Hongkong,  and  San 
Francisco  smoke  that  drug.  For  ten  cents  a Cairene 
can  buy  enough  to  last  him  all  night.  The  hashish 
cafes,  like  our  churches,  are  never  closed.  They  tell 
me  here  that  one  of  every  four  men  in  Cairo  uses 
hashish.  They  smoke  for  two  or  three  hours,  and 
then  fall  into  a sort  of  stupor  or  dream  the  whole 
night  through.  Mahomet’s  seventy  virgins,  whose 
youth  and  freshness  are  ever  renewed,  dance  in 
transparent  attire  before  their  enraptured  vision. 
Fountains  of  milk  and  honey,  and  the  soft  volup- 
tuous harmonies  of  the  zarab,  mingle  together  in 
sweet  confusion.  They  are  Haroun  al-Raschid, 
Saladin,  or  Mehemet  Ali.  Long  lines  of  troopers 
on  their  white  Arabian  steeds  await  with  drawn 
and  jewelled  scimitars  their  slightest  nod,  as  of 
the  Prophet  Mahomet.  The  cry,  “ Allah-il- Allah  /” 
rings  through  their  dull  and  stupefied  minds,  as 
they  see  themselves  rulers  over  thousands,  soldans 
of  Egypt ; and  they  are  awakened  suddenly  and 
rudely,  to  find  around  them  a dirty  Arab  cafe', 
with  a dim  lamp  black  with  grime,  and  their  fellow 
hashish-smokers  lying  prone  in  the  dust  at  their 


OLD  CAIRO. 


*9 


feet.  Then  they  stagger  to  their  miserable  homes 
to  sleep  during  the  day  a dead  maudlin  slumber, 
and  arise  next  morning  for  their  daily  labour,  with- 
out a cent,  with  sodden  brain  and  heavy  limbs. 
Strange  that  people  will,  for  a little  fancied  relief, 
even  in  a hashish  dream,  thus  lower  themselves 
below  the  beasts. 

But  the  sun  is  sinking  fast  behind  the  yellow  line 
of  the  Libyan  hills,  and  the  serpent  Nile  flows 
placidly  on  under  the  gigantic  shadow  of  the  Pyra- 
mids. Now  the  lamps  are  lighted  in  the  shops  of  the 
narrow  streets,  from  which  the  sun’s  rays  have  gone 
an  hour.  The  cafes  begin  to  fill  and  the  crowds 
in  the  roads  to  increase.  The  camels  in  a long  line, 
tied  head  to  tail,  and  loaded  with  immense  quantities 
of  sugar-cane,  so  that  they  look  like  moving  hay- 
stacks, slowly  and  patiently  thread  their  pathway 
through  the  thronged  street.  The  shops  where 
lamp-oil  of  American  and  Russian  production  is 
sold,  and  the  fruit  marts,  are  filled  with  buyers. 
Pomegranates,  mandarins,  as  well  as  dates,  bananas, 
and  almost  every  variety  of  tropical  fruit  known, 
are  both  good  and  cheap. 

Here  is  a donkey  loaded  with  immense  water- 
melons, piled  on  each  side  of  the  basket  that  forms  his 
saddle.  The  old  farmer  who  drives  him  cuts  the 
melons  into  large  slices,  and  sells  the  luscious  pieces 
for  a para,  or  one-fifth  of  a cent,  each.  All  this  in 


20 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


the  month  of  December.  With  a slice  of  water-melon 
and  a cake  of  Arab  bread,  costing  also  only  a para, 
the  humble  Egyptian  eats  a very  good  supper,  and 
contentedly  lies  down  to  sleep  on  the  ground  under 
the  eaves  of  some  house,  to  shelter  him  from  the 
morning  rays  of  the  sun.  This  bread,  which  con- 
sists only  of  flour,  salt,  and  water,  is  made  into 
cakes  like  pancakes,  and  is  very  good  and  palatable. 

The  shadows  come  thicker,  the  lamps  are  lighted 
in  the  little  open  space  in  front  of  the  large  Arab 
cafe  yonder.  Presently  the  story-teller  appears,  and 
takes  his  seat  on  the  high  chair  allotted  to  him, 
while  the  old,  low  wooden  benches  around  are  soon 
filled  with  groups  of  Arabs,  prepared  to  listen  and 
drink  coffee. 

In  a sweet,  low,  yet  penetrating  voice,  distinctly 
heard  in  the  quiet  that  prevails,  the  old  Arab,  with 
his  white  turban  and  long  white  beard,  chants  some 
tale  of  Hafiz,  some  exploit  of  Rustam,  or  a love-song 
from  the  Arabian  pages  of  Avaluca.  He  does  not 
exactly  read,  but  rather  sings,  with  due  inflections 
and  frequent  pauses  between  each  sentence  and  line. 

It  is  his  trade,  and  he  is  employed  by  the  cafes. 
Every  pleasant  evening,  and  they  are  nearly  all  so 
at  Cairo,  when  Orion  and  the  Pleiades  look  down  on 
the  land  made  so  bright  and  fairy-like  by  the 
lucent  rays  of  Isis,  old  Abdullah  comes  forth  and 
delights  the  audience  with  his  quaint  and  centuries- 


OLD  CAIRO. 


21 


old  legends.  I had  learned  a little  Arabic  in  my 
three  months’  housekeeping  among  the  natives,  and  [ 
once  asked  the  Egyptian  who  so  gravely  poured  the 
delicate  mocha  into  my  cup — 

“ Ibrahim,  what  is  Abdullah  telling  us  of  to- 
night ? ” 

Ibrahim  listened  for  a minute,  and  replied, 
“ Inshallah  ! he  is  recounting  the  story  of  the  fight 
between  Goliath  and  David  that  is  told  in  the 
Jewish  Koran.  Of  course  you  have  read  it.” 

“ Yes,”  said  I,  in  surprise ; “ but  I did  not  know 
that  you  Arabs  took  some  of  your  tales  from  that 
source.” 

“ Oh  yes,”  said  Ibrahim  ; “Abdullah  knows  them 
all.  I have  heard  him  sing  of  the  sun  stopping  at 
the  command  of  Joshua,  of  the  falling  of  the  walls 
of  a town  at  the  sound  of  a trumpet,  of  the  drown- 
ing of  the  Egyptians  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  of  many 
other  wonderful  and  true  events  that  the  Jews  relate. 
Abdullah  knows  the  Jewish  book  as  well  almost  as 
he  does  our  own  Koran  of  the  Prophet  Mahomet. 
They  have  carefully  been  written  down  by  the  wise 
men  of  the  past,  and  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  learn  them 
by  heart.” 

“ But,”  I added,  “ do  the  Arabs  listen  to  these 
with  as  much  interest  as  they  do  to  those  of  their 
own  race  ? ” 

“ Yes,”  he  replied.  “ Why  not  ? They  like  to 


22 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


hear  of  the  deeds  of  brave  and  strong  men  of  every 
clime.  They  sit  here  until  midnight,  when  we  close 
the  cafe'.  All  they  pay  is  for  the  coffee  and  tobacco 
that  they  order.” 

“ And  do  they  also  like  to  listen  to  love-songs  ? ” 

“ Oh  yes  ; that  is  the  most  pleasant  of  all.  The 
stories  of  the  ‘ Arabian  Nights  ’ and  the  songs  of 
Omar  Khayyam  are  the  most  popular.  They  come 
here  and  listen  to  Abdullah  singing  the  same  ones 
night  after  night,  especially  from  the  tenth  to  the 
eighteenth  night  of  the  moon,  and  they  never  get 
tired.” 

I ordered  some  more  coffee  and  the  narghileh, 
wondering  at  these  people,  who  banish  love  from 
their  hearts  and  homes,  yet  revel  in  its  dreams  and 
fantasies,  as  told  by  Abdullah  in  the  cool  moon- 
light of  the  narrow  streets  of  Cairo.  They  marry 
and  divorce  their  wives  like  cattle ; they  have 
odalisques  by  the  score  ; but  the  pure  and  warm 
passion  of  Amina  and  Ali,  and  the  fatal  results  of 
the  love  of  Farida  and  Ilassan,  who  lie  buried 
together  deep  down  in  the  amber-coloured  sea, 
shining  so  serenely  in  the  violet  sun,  are  to  them 
of  more  vivid  and  pathetic  interest  than  the  im- 
mense harems  of  Solomon  or  Mahmoud.  Their  life 
is  artificial,  while  love  is  natural.  The  Moslem 
religion  is  built  on  the  ruins  of  the  esteem  and 
respect  that  man  owes  to  his  mother,  his  wife,  and 


OLD  CAIRO. 


23 


Jiis  sister.  It  will  fall,  as  does  everything  that  has 
not  a stable  foundation,  and  the  human  emotions  of 
men  and  women,  as  evinced  in  the  love  of  one  for 
one  other,  will  again  exist  in  this  land  of  the  Palm 
and  the  Pomegranate. 


24 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HASS  AN  AND  HUSSEIN. 

There  are  two  principal  sects  of  the  Moslems  : 
those  who  believe  their  rulers  should  be  the  blood 
descendants  of  Mahomet,  and  those  who  are  content 
with  history  as  it  is.  Mahomet  managed  to  have 
about  a dozen  -wives  before  he  died,  usually  dream- 
ing a dream  previous  to  taking  a new  one.  These 
dreams,  or  communications,  were  with  the  Arch- 
angel Gabriel,  commanding  him  so  to  do,  and 
thereafter  they  formed  new  passages  in  the  Koran. 
It  is  quite  true  that  these  ladies  were,  some  of  them 
at  least,  as  in  the  case  of  the  beautiful  Jewish 
woman,  the  wives  of  other  men  then  living.  But 
when  one  has  the  Archangel  Gabriel  to  back  him, 
and  the  object  is  the  possession  of  a pretty  woman, 
religion  and  desire  form  a very  strong  team. 
Mahomet  made  war  on  the  Jewish  tribe,  killed  its 
chieftain,  appropriated  his  wife ; then,  towards  the 
remaining  members  of  the  tribe,  put  in  force,  for 
the  first  time  in  history,  the  famous  words  which 


HASSAN  AND  HUSSEIN. 


25 


are  the  scimitar  and  oriflamme  of  Moslemism  : 
“ The  Koran  or  the  Sword.” 

He  left  but  one  child,  a girl,  named  Fatima.  She 
married  and  had  two  sons,  Ilassan  and  Hussein. 

After  her  death,  her  sons,  while  still  young, 
aspired  to  the  caliphate,  then  held  by  one  of  the 
companions  of  the  Prophet.  Mahomet  himself,  when, 
dying,  had  not  particularly  indicated  his  own 
wishes,  thus,  like  Alexander,  practically  leaving 
the  succession  “ to  the  most  worthy.”  In  the  wars 
and  tumults  that  ensued  the  two  grandsons  of 
Mahomet  were  killed — in  fact,  murdered — by  the 
emissaries  of  the  caliph,  and  their  party  annihilated. 
But  as  ages  ran  on,  and  the  religion  and  power  of 
Moslemism  spread  over  the  world,  many  of  the 
more  pious  devotees  recalled  to  mind  the  sacrifice 
of  the  young  men. 

They  prayed  for  them,  erected  mosques  bearing 
their  names,  and  gradually  created  a sect  which 
made  saints  of  Hussein  and  Hassan,  only  less 
sanctified  than  the  Prophet  himself.  Interpretations 
were  given  to  certain  passages  of  the  Koran  which 
implied  God’s  desire  that  the  descendants  of  Ma- 
homet should  be  his  successors.  Persons  were 
produced  claiming  to  be  of  the  lineage  of  Hassan 
and  Hussein,  while  others  asserted  they  left  no 
children.  When  strong  enough,  the  Shiites,  as  they 
were  called,  went  to  war  with  the  people  of  the 


26 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


caliph,  named  Sunnites.  These  wars  were  cha- 
racterized by  the  intolerance,  bigotry,  and  cruelty 
that  disgrace  most  religious  disputes,  whether  with 
the  sword  or  the  pen.  The  contest  extended  more 
or  less  over  the  dominion  of  the  whole  Moslem 
world,  and  lasted  for  centuries.  It  ended  in  leaving 
affairs  pretty  much  as  they  were  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  feud.  That  is,  the  caliphs  and  their 
successors  still  held  the  reins  of  government.  But 
with  a cessation  of  warfare  came  religious  toleration, 
and  now  the  two  sects  exist  and  have  their  being 
a good  deal  like  Protestants  and  Roman  Catholics. 
Only  perhaps  the  Shiites  and  Sunnites  have  less 
radical  differences. 

The  Persian  race  are  more  especially  devoted 
followers  of  Hassan  and  his  brother,  and  always 
have  a procession  and  ceremonies  on  the  anniversary 
of  their  murder.  There  are  a great  number  of 
Persians  living  in  Cairo,  and  on  the  evening  of  this 
anniversary  I went  with  Achmet  Bey  to  witness 
their  religious  rites. 

The  long  narrow  street  of  the  Mouska  was 
crowded  from  end  to  end.  The  high  Persian  caps 
of  sheepskin  were  the  most  numerous,  but  the 
turbans  white  and  green,  the  red  fez  with  the  black 
tassel,  and  the  immense  mountain  of  white  which 
crowned  the  heads  of  the  Soudanese,  themselves 
black  as  ebony,  were  to  be  seen  on  all  sides. 


IIASSAN  AND  HUSSE/N. 


27 


We  had  to  leave  the  carriage  and  force  our  way 
on  foot  through  the  crowd  to  the  small  mosque,  or 
church,  which  was  already  thronged  with  people, 
save  for  a space  in  the  centre,  occupied  by  devotees. 

All  Mahometan  mosques  are  built  on  the  model 
of  the  original  at  Mecca.  They  have  neither  benches, 
seats,  chairs,  statues,  sculptures,  nor  pictures.  They 
are  absolutely  bare  walls,  and  the  altar  or  pulpit 
can  only  be  known  to  the  stranger  by  a small  recess 
or  alcove  in  the  side  of  the  wall  nearest  to  Mecca. 
The  intention  is  that  nothing:  within  a building:  con- 
secrated  to  the  worship  of  God  shall  abstract  the 
mind  of  the  believer  from  his  orisons  and  penances. 
The  columns  of  the  first  mosque  built  by  Mahomet 
himself  were  palm-trees  with  the  tops  cut  off. 

He  constructed  it  in  a cemetery  where  was  a palm 
grove,  and  combined  religion  with  economy  in 
erecting  a building  of  palms  within  the  precincts 
of  the  dead.  So,  following  this,  the  marble  columns 
of  the  more  costly  mosques  are  made  of  the  hori- 
zontal spirals  and  involutions  that  indicate  the  bark 
of  the  palm-tree.  The  Moslem  architect  has  to 
exert  all  his  ingenuity  to  obtain  artistic  results 
within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  palm ; and  it  is 
marvellous  how  well  he  has  succeeded  in  some 
cases.  There  is  a mosque  here  in  Cairo  which  on 
entering  looks  exactly  like  a grove  of  tall  palms. 
The  slender  columns  are  of  white  marble,  towering 


28 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


aloft  a hundred  feet  or  more,  and  the  branches  and 
leaves,  which  only  grow  on  the  top  of  this  tree,  are 
so  gracefully  interlaced  and  interwoven  in  the  domed 
roof,  springing  direct  from  the  columns,  that  it  seems 
as  if  they  were  gathered  together  over  our  heads  to 
form  a shaded  walk.  When  one  has  travelled  under 
the  hot  sun  of  the  East  on  the  deserts  where  there 
is  nothing  to  protect  him  from  its  rays,  one  can 
realize  how  very  pleasant  must  be  this  illusion. 
It  is  like  the  mirage  of  Arizona  and  Utah,  and, 
suggesting  his  natural  groves,  is  most  attractive 
to  the  Oriental.  The  architect  in  return  received 
a truly  Oriental  reward.  After  his  noble  conception 
was  realized  the  sultan  cut  off  both  his  hands,  so 
that  he  could  never  plan  another  for  any  one  else. 

The  minarets  and  cupolas  which  form  so  con- 
spicuous a feature  of  Cairo,  Constantinople,  and 
Damascus  are  innovations  added  to  the  mosques 
a century  or  two  after  the  death  of  the  Prophet. 
The  minarets  are  four  in  number,  and  are  placed 
at  each  corner  of  the  roof.  They  were  also  intended 
originally  to  resemble  palm-trees,  the  idea  being  to 
have  one  palm-tree  on  top  of  another ; but  in  later 
times  this  fashion  was  abandoned,  and  the  minarets 
of  a mosque  to-day  are  but  little  more  than  four 
straight  slender  steeples  that,  in  the  clear  dry 
atmosphere  of  Egypt,  can  be  seen  over  its  level 
plains  for  an  immense  distance. 


HASS  AN  AND  HUSSEIN. 


29 


To  return.  When  we  got  through  the  crowd  at 
the  entrance  and  forced  our  way  to  the  middle  we 
saw  a strange  sight.  Twenty  men,  naked  to  the 
waist,  stood  opposite  each  other,  about  six  feet  apart, 
ten  on  each  side.  They  were  armed  with  immense 
scimitars,  broad  and  heavy.  At  a given  signal  by 
the  leader  these  dervishes  would  raise  their  weapons 
a little  distance,  and  let  the  cutting  edge  fall  either 
on  their  shoulders,  breasts,  or  backs.  Then  a chant, 
a weird  uncanny  chant,  would  be  started  by  the 
Imaun,  or  priest,  and  joined  in  by  all  those  within 
hearing  for  perhaps  two  minutes.  Again,  when 
all  was  silence,  the  first  of  the  twenty  would  repeat 
his  signal,  and  once  more  the  long  heavy,  blood- 
stained swords  fell  upon  their  forms,  while  the  blood 
from  the  numerous  wounds  formed  a little  rivulet 
that  ran  straight  towards  the  recess  or  shrine  point- 
ing to  Mecca. 

The  principal  actors  in  this  religious  drama 
accompanied  their  self-mutilation  with  a song  ex- 
pressive of  their  sorrow  at  the  murder  of  Hassan 
and  Hussein.  Presently,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
song,  one  of  the  twenty,  covered  with  blood,  fell  with 
a groan  upon  the  marble  floor.  Immediately  the 
others  surrounded  him,  waving  their  weapons  and 
singing  like  the  witches  in  “ Macbeth.”  The  mob 
re-echoed  the  cry,  while  the  flickering  torches  cast 
ghostly  shadows  and  lighted  up  the  frenzied  faces 


3° 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


of  these  men,  who  thought  they  were  pleasing 
God.  The  poor  dying  wretch  could  scarce  breathe. 
There  he  lay  in  his  blood,  yet  still,  in  bis  devotion, 
tried  to  raise  the  heavy  scimitar,  which  he  retained 
in  his  grasp,  and  give  himself  one  last  wound.  The 
effort  was  too  great,  and  he  fell  bach,  and  in  a 
minute  or  two  died. 

I turned  away  nearly  stifled,  and  got  out  of 
the  mosque  as  soon  as  I could.  I did  not  want 
to  see  any  more,  but  Achmet  Bey  said  I must  by 
all  means  observe  the  torchlight  procession  from 
the  mosque,  which  immediately  followed,  and 
which  only  occurred  once  a year.  So  we  went  to 
a house  in  the  Mouska,  the  principal  street  of 
Cairo,  and  waited.  First  came  a body  of  native 
police,  commanded  by  two  English  officers  on  horse- 
back, who  are  in  the  employ  of  the  Egyptian 
Government.  Then  came  the  nineteen  dervishes,  the 
blood  still  flowing  from  some  of  their  wounds.  They 
held  their  scimitars,  but  did  nothing  more  than 
chant  as  they  walked.  Their  part  of  the  perform- 
ance bad  been  done,  and  well  done,  in  the  mosque. 
With  their  bloody  faces  and  bodies,  the  strips  of 
flesh  hanging  down  from  their  cheeks  and  shoulders, 
what  a ghastly  looking  set  of  wretches  they  were ! 
Yet  they  fascinated  me,  and  I could  not  remove  my 
eyes  until  the  last  one  of  them  had  disappeared  in 
the  darkness. 


HASSAN  AND  HUSSEIN. 


31 


After  a while  came  two  boys  mounted  on  horse- 
back. They  had  also  been  in  the  mosque,  having 
a little  fun,  but  I had  not  noticed  them.  They  had 
amused  themselves  by  cutting  each  other  with  small 
knives,  standing  meanwhile  on  a white  cloth.  This 
cloth,  spotted  with  their  blood,  was  now  cut  in  two 
and  used  as  saddle-cloths.  The  little  fellows,  each 
about  fifteen  years  old,  with  faces  and  arms  scarred 
and  cut,  were  mounted  on  the  white  and  red  saddles, 
singing  and  brandishing  their  knives  as  they  passed. 

Then  followed  a new  lot  of  dervishes.  These 
men  had  discovered  another  method  of  flagellation. 
They  put  a quantity  of  old  nails  and  scraps  of  iron 
into  a small  canvas  bag,  the  whole  weighing  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  pounds.  Every  now  and  then  they 
would  stop,  form  a circle,  and  strike  violently  their 
shoulders,  backs,  and  bosoms  with  these  delicate 
sacks.  Yery  soon  the  nails  penetrated  the  canvas, 
and  thus  they  had  the  delight  of  piercing  their  bodies, 
causing  the  blood  to  flow  on  to  their  garments  every 
time  they  repeated  this  pleasant  performance. 

The  procession  wound  around  two  or  three  of  the 
principal  streets,  then  returned  to  the  mosque  and 
dispersed.  But  what  a crowd  there  was!  all  men, 
not  a woman  on  the  street.  The  women  are  never 
allowed  any  privileges,  as  I have  said  before.  Yet 
on  this  night  we  frequently  passed  carriages  drawn 
up  to  the  side  of  the  street.  We  could  see  white 


32 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


veils  through  the  closed  windows  as  the  torches  in 
passing  threw  an  uncertain  glimmer,  and  we  knew 
that  each  carriage  was  full  of  harem  beauties,  who 
on  this  occasion  were  permitted  to  come  out,  thus 
guarded,  and  look  on. 

We  went  home  by  the  light  of  the  Egyptian  moon, 
full  and  clear  as  when  Isis  took  it  for  her  guidon 
and  inspiration. 


( 33  ) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CAIRO  AND  TIIE  CAIRENES. 

TriE  Cairo  of  the  present  day  is  not  built  on  the  exact 
site  of  the  Cairo  of  the  “ Arabian  Nights.”  That  was 
the  old  city  of  Fostat,  founded  by  Amrou,  the  general 
of  the  Caliph  Omar,  who  came  here  with  no  more 
than  four  thousand  men,  and  took  the  country.  This 
happened  in  the  seventh  century,  and  in  the  nine- 
teenth the  English  take  and  hold  it  with  only  three 
thousand  men.  The  people  of  Egypt  are  evidently 
the  same  class  of  non-resistants  that  they  were  twelve 
hundred  years  ago.  Amrou  erected  a mosque  on  the 
lines  of  the  original  one  built  by  Mahomet  at  Mecca. 
This  mosque  still  exists,  though  in  a deserted  and 
ruined  state,  and  is  called  by  the  Arabs  “ The  Old 
Mosque.” 

By  the  way,  in  using  this  word  “ Arab,”  I am 
reminded  of  the  curious  notions  these  people  have 
in  some  matters.  The  phrase  “ fellah,”  as  usually 
applied,  is  understood  to  mean  the  peasantry  of 
Egypt — those  that  live  in  the  villages,  as  apart 

D 


34 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


from  Alexandria  and  Cairo.  Fellaheen  is  the  plural, 
and  includes  both  sexes.  The  people  of  Cairo  and 
Alexandria  are,  of  course,  of  the  same  blood  and  type 
as  those  who  live  in  the  hamlets.  Those  of  the  cities 
go  at  times  to  live  in  the  country,  and  those  of  the 
country  to  the  cities,  as  in  other  places.  But  to  call 
an  inhabitant  of  Cairo  or  Alexandria  one  of  the 
fellaheen  is  to  say  something  very  offensive,  as  it 
would  have  been,  before  the  war,  to  call  a Southerner 
one  of  the  “ poor  white  trash.”  The  odd  thing  is 
that  they  dislike  only  in  a less  degree  to  be  called 
Egyptians.  They  call  themselves,  everywhere  and 
at  all  times,  Arabs,  never  Egyptians  or  fellaheen. 
The  reason  is  very  likely  this.  When  the  Arabs 
conquered  Egypt  they  despised  the  race  and  people 
who  had  submitted  almost  without  a blow.  They 
were  of  the  pure  stock  of  the  desert,  tall,  lithe, 
stalwart,  and  strong,  and  disdained  to  mix  their  blood 
by  intermarriage  with  this  short  and  brown  people. 
So  they  formed  a class  or  caste  by  themselves,  and 
were  the  aristocracy  of  Egypt.  Though  the  Arabs 
and  their  descendants  have  long  since  gone,  swept 
away  by  the  incoming  of  other  invaders  at  different 
periods,  the  impression  of  their  superiority  was  so 
enduring,  that,  even  to-day,  people  prefer  to  use  the 
race-name  of  their  conquerors. 

The  Old  Mosque  of  Amrou  is  surrounded  by 
tumble-down  walls,  deserted  houses,  and  drifting 


CAIRO  AND  THE  CAIRENES. 


35 


sands.  It  is  marvellous  how  quickly  the  land 
relapses  into  the  desert,  if  there  be  no  one  to  pre- 
serve and  water  the  soil.  The  ancient  city  of 
Fostat,  of  which  I write,  is  now  half  desert,  though 
only  two  or  three  miles  from  the  present  city  of 
Cairo. 

Amrou's  city  of  Fostat  became  the  capital,  and 
was  a large  and  important  place  at  the  epoch  of 
Charlemagne  and  Haroun  al-Baschid.  It  is  of  this 
period  that  the  “Arabian  Nights  ” tales  are  told,  and 
Cairo  is  the  scene  of  many  of  its  most  charming 
stories.  After  the  death  of  the  Caliph  Ilaroun,  who 
had  lived  in  Bagdad,  his  son  and  successor  moved 
to  Cairo.  He  was  the  monarch  who  opened  the  first 
Pyramid  in  looking  for  treasure,  and  found  the  King’s 
and  Queen’s  chambers.  It  is  not  known  if  there 
were  any  mummies  there,  hut  it  is  generally  assumed 
that  they  had  disappeared  long  before.  In  that  case, 
it  must  have  been  in  the  early  ages  of  Egypt,  for 
there  can  be  no  question  that  until  this  son  of  Haroun 
found  and  opened  the  chambers  the  entrance  to  the 
Great  Pyramid  had  been  lost,  far  anterior  to  the  days 
of  Herodotus.  Some  writers  assert  that  the  hatred  of 
the  people  against  Cheops  and  Chephren,  who  forced 
them  to  build  the  two  large  Pyramids,  was  so  fierce 
that  the  royal  mummies  were  buried  in  a secret, 
unknown  tomb,  for  fear  that,  if  placed  in  the 
Pyramids  originally  intended  for  their  remains, 


36 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


the  sarcophagi  would  be  broken  into  and  the  bodies 
destroyed. 

How  many  mysteries  cluster  around  these  bare 
summits,  towering  over  the  Libyan  sands ! The 
very  uncertainty  that  surrounds  the  question  gives 
to  the  Pyramids  a fascination  that  will  ever  exist. 
It  is  the  unknowable  rather  than  the  knowable 
that  attracts  us.  Where  there  is  obscurity  there  is 
always  inquiry. 

In  the  twelfth  century  appeared  Saladin  of 
Crusading  fame.  He  became  ruler  over  Egypt  and 
Syria,  including  Palestine.  Like  many  other 
masters  of  Egypt,  he  was  not  an  Egyptian,  being 
a native  of  Koordistan.  He  feared  an  invasion  of 
Egypt  by  the  Crusaders,  and  thought  that  Fostat  was 
not  very  well  placed  to  withstand  a regular  attack 
and  siege.  Therefore  he  choose  a point  of  rock  that 
jutted  out  from  the  Mokattain  hills,  two  or  three 
miles  below,  and  built  thereon  a fortress.  By 
digging  down  over  two  hundred  feet  to  the  Nile 
level,  he  found  an  ample  supply  of  good  water, 
which  afforded  safety  to  the  citadel  in  case  of  a siege. 
Thence  to  the  Nile,  due  west,  was  about  two  miles. 
He  enclosed  this  space,  and  other  land  extending 
north  and  south,  with  massively  built  walls,  having 
numerous  gates.  These  walls  and  gates  exist  in 
great  part  to-day,  and  are  in  an  excellent  condition. 
The  city  has  gradually,  as  in  most  modern  cities, 


CAIRO— the  citadel.  To  face  page  3G. 


CAIRO  AND  THE  CAIRENES. 


37 


spread  beyond  the  walls,  but  all  the  life,  variety,  and 
colour  of  Cairo  are  within  Saladin’s  iron  portals. 

The  great  gates,  studded  with  iron  points,  swing 
heavily  on  their  solid  hinges  beneath  the  frowning 
rocks  that  form  the  walls  above.  Here  an  endless 
throng  of  people  pass  each  other  in  dense  groups 
with  incessant  variations  of  colour.  The  soldier 
stands  ward  over  the  wide  open  portals,  as  the 
seneschal  of  the  Middle  Ages  did  at  the  portcullis. 
The  Egyptian  has  his  sword  and  baton  only,  with 
that  far-away  look  in  his  eyes  common  to  all  these 
people,  and  which  may  imply  deep-reaching  thought 
or — vacuity.  It  is  generally  the  latter.  In  comes 
the  camel,  just  arrived  from  Mecca  with  the  Sacred 
Carpet.  The  great  lumbering,  patient  beast  plods 
slowly  on,  while  his  rider  shows  the  green  turban 
and  chooftan  of  the  returned  pilgrim  to  the  shrine 
of  Mahomet.  I can  never  take  my  eyes  away  from 
a camel.  These  animals  are  so  unwieldy  ; their  gait 
is  so  slovenly  and  yet  so  soft ; their  heavy  feet  tread 
the  earth  so  quietly,  and  the  soles  spread  so  widely 
upon  the  yielding  sand,  while  their  backs  go  up 
and  down  with  such  regularity  when  walking,  that 
it  makes  one  almost  sea-sick  to  watch  them.  Yet 
I will  do  it.  They  come  into  the  city  from  the 
gate  of  the  Abbasiyeh  road,  bright  with  scarlet 
trappings,  while  bells  ring  and  the  crowd  reve- 
rently and  silently  opens  in  the  narrow  street  for 


38 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


their  passage  to  the  citadel.  There  are  camels  and 
camels,  some  dusty  and  tired-looking,  for  they  have 
travelled  the  thousand  miles  or  more  of  desert  sand 
between  Cairo  and  Mecca  and  back  again.  To  the 
base  of  the  citadel  they  go,  where  the  troops  are 
drawn  up  in  solid  array  and  the  grand  vizier  stands 
ready,  with  uncovered  head,  to  receive  the  Sacred 
Carpet,  while  salvoes  of  artillery  announce  the  glad 
event.  It  is  carefully  deposited  in  the  royal  trea- 
sury, there  to  remain  until  the  next  year,  when  it 
is  again  taken  out  and,  with  due  pomp  and  solemnity, 
sent  upon  its  long  journey.  The  carpet  is  decorated 
with  precious  stones  of  immense  value.  Formerly 
a new  one  was  provided  each  anniversary,  but  now- 
adays they  make  a carpet  last  five  or  six  years. 
The  one  taken  from  Cairo  is  left  at  Mecca,  and 
the  one  found  there  brought  back  to  Cairo.  Then, 
the  following  year,  the  two  carpets  again  exchange 
places. 

Leaving  the  square  of  Mehemet  Ali  in  front  of 
the  citadel,  where  this  ceremony  took  place,  I turn 
back  by  the  mosque  and  plunge  into  the  Ivhariyeh 
street — the  very  centre  of  the  life  of  Old  Cairo. 
For  there  are  two  Cairos — the  Old  and  the  New. 
New  Cairo  contains  the  Ismalieh  and  Abbasiyeh 
quarters.  The  Ismalieh  portion  was  a marsh  for  a 
good  part  of  the  year  a century  or  so  ago.  Now  it 
has  all  been  filled  in,  graded,  and  numerous  palaces 


CAIRO  AND  THE  CAIRENES. 


39 


of  the  royal  family  and  higher  pashas  built  thereon. 
It  is  called  the  European  quarter,  and  the  streets 
running  through  it  contain  the  shops  where 
foreigners  make  their  purchases.  The  thousands 
of  Greeks,  Italians,  and  Frenchmen  who  live  per- 
manently in  Cairo  inhabit  this  and  the  Abbasiyeh 
districts ; though  this  latter  portion  of  the  city  is 
occupied  as  well  by  the  Jews,  who  number  fifteen 
thousand  in  Cairo  alone.  They  are  Egyptian  and 
Syrian  Jews,  having  but  little  foreign  blood.  So, 
in  that  particular,  their  race  is  as  pure  as  the  de- 
spised fellaheen.  They  have  lived  side  by  side  with 
the  Copt  and  the  fellah  during  all  the  changes  of 
masters  that  have  taken  place  in  Egypt.  Like  the 
others,  they  are  not  very  warlike ; and,  like  them 
also,  they  have  the  most  implicit  faith  in  their 
religion.  Synagogues  in  this  quarter  are  more 
numerous  than  mosques,  and  the  tenets  of  the 
Hebrew  religion  are  strictly  enforced.  Nowhere  in 
the  East  does  one  find  free-thinkers  or  a loosening: 
of  the  religious  tie ; and  all  believers  of  these 
separate  creeds  adhere  firmly  to  the  creed  of  their 
ancestors,  and  there  are  no  converts.  The  Jew  is 
entitled  to  sincere  respect  for  the  faith  to  which  he 
has  clung  in  Egypt.  For  he  has  been  treated 
a little  better  than  a dog,  but  a good  deal  worse 
than  a camel.  On  state  Moslem  festivals  he  had  to 
remain  within  his  house,  not  being  allowed  to  go 


40 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


out  until  the  people  had  dispersed.  It  was  the  law, 
in  the  first  place ; and  if  he  did  dare  to  venture 
forth,  he  was  at  once  assailed  with  sticks  and  offal 
from  the  street.  Yet,  in  spite  of  these  drawbacks, 
they  lived  and  died  there.  For  it  was  as  much 
their  country  as  that  of  the  Copts  and  fellaheen,  and 
more  theirs  than  that  of  their  conquerors.  Before 
the  English  came  they  were  the  financiers  of  the 
kingdom,  and  even  to-day  the  head  of  the  treasury 
is  a Jew.  It  is  wonderful  how  this  race  accumu- 
lates money.  They  must  have  peculiar  mental 
qualities  not  granted  to  the  rest  of  mankind ; or 
else,  by  a species  of  heredity,  they  have  cultivated 
the  money-making  faculty  until,  in  its  use,  they  are 
superior  to  all  others. 

Here,  as  elsewhere,  there  are  no  poor  Jews,  and 
many  rich  ones.  The  only  railway  in  Egypt  that 
the  Government  does  not  own  is  the  private  pro- 
perty of  a single  Hebrew.  Another  of  them  was 
possessed  of  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Abbasiyeh 
quarter,  which  has  recently  come  into  the  market 
for  building  purposes.  He  has  gained  an  enormous 
fortune.  Some  of  the  best  houses  are  their  pro- 
perty, and  there  are  several  banks  in  Cairo  con- 
trolled entirely  by  the  Hebrew  element.  They  live 
very  quietly  and  make  no  outward  display  of 
wealth.  They  only  marry  with  their  own  race. 
For  a Jewish  girl  to  wed  a Moslem  or  Copt  would 


CAIRO  AND  THE  CAIRENES. 


4i 


be  abhorrent  to  their  usages.  Those  of  Alexandria 
and  Cairo,  whose  families  have  lived  here  long  ages, 
are  all  more  or  less  related  to  each  other,  for  they 
have  married  and  intermarried  all  the  time.  If 
there  be  a poor  Jewish  maiden  of  good  repute 
whose  family  cannot  give  her  the  dowry  which  is 
so  essential  here,  some  one  goes  among  the  rich 
Hebrews  to  obtain  the  requisite  sum.  He  gets 
a gift  of  five  dollars  from  one,  ten  dollars  from 
another,  until  he  has  collected  five  hundred  dollars. 
This  is  given  to  the  girl  on  the  occasion  of  her 
marriage,  and  with  it  she  has  little  difficulty  in 
finding  a husband.  Jewish  girls,  like  the  Arab 
girls,  marry  at  a very  early  age.  Those  married 
at  fifteen  and  under  are  perhaps  more  numerous 
than  those  who  marry  afterwards. 

The  women  have  a costume  for  the  street  which 
is  half-way  between  the  Moslem  and  the  Christian. 
They  do  not  wear  the  yashmak  or  veil,  but  they 
are  always  enveloped  in  a soft  black  glossy  cloak  or 
covering,  called  a habbarah,  which  extends  from 
the  head  to  the  heels.  At  will  they  can  draw  this 
over  the  head,  and  it  covers  the  face  quite  as  com- 
pletely as  the  veil,  with  the  advantage  that  it  takes 
only  a second  to  throw  it  back  over  the  shoulders, 
where  it  rests  like  a hood. 

They  are  not  pretty,  and  they  dress  in  execrable 
taste.  The  indolent  habits  of  the  Arab  women 


42 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


extend  to  the  Jewesses.  They  neither  sew,  w^alk, 
nor  read.  All  day  long  a Jewish  girl  remains  in 
her  father’s  house,  with  her  feet  curled  up  on  the 
divan,  talking  with  some  of  her  many  female  rela- 
tives. For  they  visit  each  other  in  turn,  day  by 
day.  In  the  evening  she  may  take  a carriage  ride 
for  an  hour  or  so. 

She  never  goes  to  a theatre,  ball,  or  dinner.  She 
rarely  sees  many  men,  for  the  marriages  are  usually 
arranged  in  infancy  by  tbe  parents,  and,  after  their 
early  marriage,  the  husband  does  not  allow  her  very 
much  latitude.  She  has  no  life  nor  energy.  She 
may  speak  French  and  Italian,  which  she  acquired 
at  a Jewish  private  school  when  a child  ; but  she 
cannot  write  or  read  Arabic,  her  native  tongue, 
nor  does  she  have  anything  but  the  most  vague  idea 
of  the  world  beyond  Egypt.  She  is  under  the  com- 
plete control  of  her  husband,  and  never  thinks  of 
asking  about  his  worldly  affairs.  The  household 
matters  are  left  entirely  to  the  servants,  who  are 
engaged  and  dismissed  by  her  husband.  The 
marketing  is  done  by  them,  and  they  account  only 
to  him.  The  upas  tree  of  Moslem  custom  shadows 
the  life  of  a woman  in  the  East,  of  whatever  religion 
she  may  be,  and  until  it  is  removed  there  will  be 
no  change. 

This  is  true  also  of  the  Copts.  These  latter  are 
the  descendants  of  the  Christians.  They  number 


CAIRO  AND  THE  CAIRENES. 


43 


perhaps  half  a million  of  the  seven  millions  who  live 
in  Egypt.  Their  belief  is  something  between  the 
Catholic  and  the  Greek  Churches.  They  cannot  be 
distinguished  apart  from  the  average  Moslem.  The 
Copts  wear  the  fez  and  the  turban,  and  dress  exactly 
like  all  the  others. 

They  live  in  the  villages  and  towns,  side  by  side 
with  their  Moslem  and  Jewish  countrymen,  in  the 
greatest  amity.  With  the  former  they  are  espe- 
cially friendly.  A little  Copt  Christian  church, 
•with  the  Greek  cross  above  it,  will  be  found  by  the 
side  of  a mosque  in  the  poorest  quarters  of  Cairo. 
They  are  not  as  rich  as  the  Hebrews,  and,  perhaps, 
for  that  reason  draw  closer  to  the  Moslem. 

Many  of  them  are  cooks  and  clerks  in  small  shops, 
and  in  other  places  where  they  are  not  called  upon 
to  do  hard  manual  labour.  But  very  few  seem  to 
have  positions  in  the  higher  ranks  of  the  army  or 
civil  departments.  It  must  be  remembered  that  all 
society  here  is  composed  of  those  in  official  positions. 
The  pashas  and  beys  have  posts  more  or  less  im- 
portant in  the  Government  service.  The  superior 
officers  in  the  Egyptian  army  are  English,  who  are 
also  officers  in  the  English  army.  The  various 
consuls  and  consuls-general,  with  their  numerous 
attaches  and  subordinates,  are  very  big  guns  indeed, 
and  therefore  the  poor  docile  and  patient  Copts 
never  mix  with  them  in  the  society  of  official  Cairo. 


44 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  COPTS  AND  HERMITS. 

These  Copts  are  of  the  same  race  as  the  hermits 
of  Mount  Sinai,  described  by  George  Ebers,  and  the 
very  brothers  of  the  monks  of  Cyril,  whom  Kingsley 
portrays.  Yet  these  people  bear  little  resemblance 
to  those  drawn  in  “ Homo  Sum  ” and  “ Hypatia.” 
The  hot,  unsheltered  slopes  of  Mount  Sinai,  with 
their  dreary  caves,  would  have  no  attraction  for  the 
modern  Egyptian  Christian.  Still  there  is  a charm 
in  that  monastic  life  of  the  early  centuries,  as  pic- 
tured by  Ebers,  that  has  its  spell.  It  cannot  be  so 
very  hard,  when  one  has  tired  of  the  world,  to  live, 
for  a while  at  least,  the  simple  and  quiet  existence 
of  the  recluse,  in  a spot  very  different  from  the 
dreary,  gloomy  recesses  of  the  Trappists,  who  dwelt 
in  darkness  and  in  silence.  It  is  only  in  cold  Europe 
or  America  where  the  rain  and  the  storms  and  the 
bleak  winds  drive  one  away  from  one’s  thoughts 
to  the  companionship  of  others  for  comfort. 

It  is  in  those  vast  wastes  of  Mount  Sinai,  conse- 


THE  COPTS  AND  HERMITS. 


45 

crated  by  the  presence  of  the  Almighty,  that  men 
could  go  and  rest  for  a while,  content.  Imagine 
the  bright  light  of  the  day,  where  never  a cloud  is 
visible  to  darken  the  blue  sky,  bluer  there  than  the 
deepest  depths  of  oceans.  The  sudden  night  falls 
fast  and  black  on  the  descent  of  the  sun,  but  is 
lighted  soon  with  the  myriad  eyes  of  the  heavens. 
Plow  quiet,  how  calm  it  is,  far  above  the  plains  of 
Arabia  below  us,  where  not  a tree,  a bush,  nor  a 
sino-le  bird  exists.  The  Mount  Sinai  hermit  wants 

O 

nothing  near  to  cause  other  thoughts  than  those 
of  abstract  contemplation  and  reflection.  Mahomet 
must  have  had  this  feeling,  when  he  prohibited  any- 
thing like  birds,  flowers,  or  statues  in  his  temples. 
He  had  lived  in  Arabia,  he  had  traversed  these 
solitudes,  and  the  calm,  peaceful  silence  of  the  place, 
where  God  had  once  trodden  the  earth,  must  have  im- 
pressed itself  on  his  vigorous  philosophical  intellect, 
and  produced  this  much-discussed  law  of  the  Koran. 

One  need  not  have  any  great  sorrow  to  desire 
such  a life.  It  does  not  follow  that  a man  is  morbid, 
or  melancholy,  or  unfortunate,  or  unhappy.  In  the 
midst  of  pleasure  and  contentment,  with  good  health, 
and  with  family  and  friends  around,  a man  may 
often  desire  a change.  Charles  V.  went  to  his 
convent  cell,  not  that  he  was  so  much  dissatisfied 
with  the  world,  as  tired  and  wanting  rest  and  quiet. 
Men  of  the  most  active  temperament,  mentally  and 


46 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


physically,  do  at  periods  yearn  for  some  kind  of  a 
life  where  they  need  not  even  think.  Gambetta, 
on  one  occasion,  went  to  a little  watering-place 
in  some  unknown  quarter  of  the  coast  of  France. 
He  stayed  a month,  not  seeing  a newspaper,  a 
hook,  nor  a person  who  knew  him  and  to  whom  he 
would  have  to  talk.  He  did  nothino;  for  four  long 
weeks  hut  sleep  and  gaze  at  the  waves  of  the  blue 
Mediterranean  softly  laving  its  northern  shores. 
At  that  same  time  he  was  the  most  eminent  states- 
man of  France,  and  his  future  was  bright  with 
coming  honours.  He  said  afterwards  that  he  was 
glad  to  have  gone  there  and  sorry  to  return  to  the 
world,  though  he  did  not  for  a moment  imagine 
that  he  would  have  been  content  with  that  life  for 
ever.  So  I suppose  those  men  who  willingly  went 
to  Mount  Sinai  to  live  were  not  all  by  any  means 
unfortunates.  It  was  not  so  very  dreary.  There 
were  the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the  stars,  and  a 
very  little  labour  gave  them  water,  bread,  and 
vegetables,  which  was  what  they  ate  and  drank. 
These  Christians  were  not  the  first  hermits  either. 
The  old  Egyptians  commenced  everything,  and  we 
have  only  followed,  not  invented — that  is  to  say,  on 
religious  matters.  They  had  their  monks  and  nuns, 
just  as  Ebers  tells  us  in  his  truthful  romances.  They 
lived  near  Memphis  and  on  the  plateau  where  stand 
the  Pyramids. 


THE  COPTS  AND  HERMITS. 


47 


The  monks  were  actually  walled  in,  leaving  only 
an  aperture  a foot  square  for  their  food  and  drink. 
This  was  on  a level  with  the  head,  so  they  could 
stand  and  converse  with  their  friends  and  watch  the 
rising  and  the  setting  of  the  sun.  What  food  they 
needed  was  always  brought  by  relatives,  who  under- 
took their  support  in  the  hope  that  the  increased 
sanctity  of  the  immured  monk  would  render  his 
orisons  to  Ptali  more  helpful  to  the  family.  But  his 
cell  was  built  on  the  plain  near  where  people  lived, 
and  the  sun  shone  into  his  little  room  and  made  it 
cheery  and  warm.  People  talked  with  him,  told  the 
news  of  the  day,  and  life  in  his  narrowed  orbit  was 
not  so  hopeless. 

In  fact,  in  Egypt,  life  is  never  without  its  charms. 
No  wonder  these  Egyptians  do  not  leave  their 
country.  It  may  he  for  lack  of  ambition,  but  they 
are  content  to  stay  in  this  sunny  land  for  all  time. 
The  ancients  had  a law  prohibiting  foreigners  from 
settling  or  even  visiting  Egypt,  and  it  is  to  the 
non-enforcement  of  this  edict  that  the  later  mis- 
fortunes of  the  country  are  ascribed.  It  was  never 
thought  necessary  to  inhibit  Egyptians  from  leaving 
Egypt  if  they  chose,  so  little  occasion  was  there. 
Who  ever  heard  of  Egyptians  in  Greece,  or 
Phoenicia,  or  Asia  Minor  ? Though  so  near  to 
Greece,  yet,  at  the  time  of  the  Trojan  War,  even 
Homer  could  only  describe  the  people  and  the  land 


48 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


in  the  most  vague  and  uncertain  manner.  Still  the 
Egyptian  scribes  traced  back  their  authentic  history 
thirty  centuries  or  more,  even  at  that  epoch.  After 
all,  they  had  lived  long  enough  to  learn  something. 
They  had  existed  as  a nation  fully  as  many  centuries 
before  the  Trojan  War  as  have  elapsed  since  the  days 
of  Achilles.  It  is  a pity  that  more  of  the  history 
of  those  times  is  not  known,  for  nothing  could  be 
more  interesting  than  to  learn  how  this  land  first 
became  civilized,  and  how  it  gradually  progressed 
from  savagery  to  a condition  of  the  highest  culture. 

They^  were  great  writers,  not  a mummy  having 
been  buried  without  some  inscription,  giving  a brief 
account  of  the  deceased.  The  name  of  the  king  and 
the  year  of  his  reign  are  also  stated  ; but  they  never 
gave  a date. 

They  had  no  chronology,  as  we  understand  it. 
Therein  lies  the  obscurity  and  confusion  of  dynasties, 
whether  they  were  contemporaneous  or  whether 
they  succeeded  each  other.  All  the  papyri  found 
refer  either  to  religious  laws  and  customs,  or  to  the 
personal  deeds  or  effects  of  the  dead.  Naturally  one 
does  not  expect  to  find  a history  or  a romance  in 
a mummy-case. 

The  libraries,  if  ever  there  were  any,  have  entirely 
disappeared.  Some  people  hope  that  a discovery 
may  yet  be  made,  near  one  of  the  numerous  temples 
to  the  Sun,  where  the  scribes  were  located,  that  will 


THE  COPTS  AND  HERMITS. 


49 


give  the  world  more  exact  knowledge  ; hut  it  is  very 
doubtful.  It.  is  stated  by  Flinders  Petrie  that  recent 
excavations  uncovered  a stele  which  gave  the  reign 
of  a certain  king  of  the  sixth  dynasty,  and  on  the 
same  stele  were  some  astronomical  tables  that,  on 
inspection,  showed  the  date  of  this  monarch’s  era 
to  have  been  about  three  thousand  four  hundred 
years  before  Christ ; that  is,  over  five  thousand  years 
ago.  On  that  basis,  and  with  this  astronomical 
chart  as  a guide,  Egyptian  savants,  who  have  to 
be  astronomers  as  well,  are  now  engaged  in  working 
out  the  problem  of  the  duration  of  each  of  the 
previous  dynasties.  There  is  one  singular  feature 
that  has  only  lately  been  known.  Though  the  Copts 
of  Alexandria  and  Cairo  speak  nothing  but  Arabic, 
like  the  Jews  and  Moslems,  yet  it  appears  that  there 
is  in  Upper  Egypt  a race  of  Copts  who  converse 
in  a dialect  or  language  which,  while  possessing 
many  of  the  Arabic  words  and  phrases,  is  yet  dis- 
tinctly different.  After  Champollion  had  acquired 
a sufficient  knowledge  of  the  hieroglyphic  language 
from  the  Eosetta  stone  and  other  sources  to  utter 
some  of  the  words  vocally,  he  was  astonished 
to  note  their  similarity  in  sound  to  a few  of  the 
phrases  used  in  the  Copt  dialect.  He  thereupon  set 
himself  to  work,  made  up  a vocabulary  of  this 
modern  Coptic  used  to-day  in  Upper  Egypt  in 
a few  places,  and,  strange  to  say,  found  several 


5° 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


words  which  enabled  him  to  decipher  certain  hiero- 
glyphics that  until  then  had  been  unintelligible. 
This  suggests  that  the  Copts  must  be  the  real 
descendants  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  for  they  only 
of  all  other  peoples  have  preserved  the  hieroglyphic 
language,  which  was  both  written  and  spoken  by 
the  old  inhabitants.  So  now,  with  this  assistance, 
the  whole  of  the  hieroglyphic  language  is  fairly 
well  known,  and  no  great  difficulty  will  henceforward 
be  found  in  reading  the  most  abstruse  papyri  or  the 
faintest-cut  stone  hieroglyphics,  if  they  are  not  en- 
tirely illegible.  How  curious  it  is  to  know  that  the 
children  of  the  worshipper  of  the  Sun  are  now  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  humble  Christ ; that  the  descendants 
of  those  who  carved  the  Sphinx,  who  built  Karnak 
and  Memphis,  now  kneel  at  the  shrine  of  the 
Nazarene ! 

Zoroaster,  Gautama,  and  Mahomet,  though  appeal- 
ing in  their  religions  to  the  material  and  sensual 
influences  that  operate  so  powerfully  on  the  Oriental 
mind,  have  not  attached  to  their  doctrines  these 
children  of  Ammon-Ra  and  Rameses.  They  have 
had  but  two  faiths  since  Egypt  was  first  peopled. 
The  first  was  that  of  the  sun,  which  was  natural  to 
those  primitive  races,  who  found  it  the  unfailing 
source  of  warmth  and  life  ; being,  moreover,  without 
any  other  evidences  of  divine  authority.  And  after- 
wards came  the  softening  and  chaste  spirit  of  Chris- 


THE  COPTS  AND  HERMITS.  51 

tianity,  before  which  this  material  worship,  that  had 
long  been  degraded  to  a parody  on  its  early  be- 
ginnings, gave  way,  as  the  bad  must  give  way  to 
the  good,  leaving  nothing  but  a memory  behind. 
It  is  a dead  religion,  with  not  a single  believer  or 

devotee  among  the  millions  now  living. 

o o 


52 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SAKKARA  AND  MEMPHIS. 

The  Apis  tombs  of  black  polished  granite,  ranged  in 
such  regular  order  under  the  golden  sands  of  Sakkara 
cemetery,  are  all  empty.  The  long  vaulted  passages 
cut  through  the  solid  rock,  so  deep  and  so  far  that 
the  temperature  does  not  change  the  year  round, 
contain  nothing  hut  cold  hard  stone.  Royal  resting- 
places  they  were  for  the  white  bull,  better  than  that 
of  most  of  the  kings.  Sixty-four  of  these  imposing 
granite  sarcophagi,  each  of  which  is  made  of  a single 
stone,  lie  in  the  opened  passages  of  the  burial-vaults. 
They  are  hollowed  out  in  a square  form,  being  deep 
and  wide  enough  to  contain  the  body  of  a bull 
standi  no:.  Both  the  inside  and  outside  surfaces  are 
polished  to  a high  degree,  and  the  outside,  which 
also  is  square,  is  sometimes  written  on  with  hiero- 
glyphs. The  sides  and  bottom  are  about  two  feet 
thick,  and  they  are  cut  as  smoothly  and  regularly 
as  if  they  were  of  the  softest  wood,  instead  of  the 
hardest  and  most  unyielding  stone  in  the  world 


SAKKARA  AND  MEMPHIS. 


53 


These  sixty-four  coffins  embrace  a period  of  sixteen 
hundred  years,  for  the  life  of  each  bull  was  limited 
to  twenty-five  years.  If  one  died  before  the  expira- 
tion of  that  time  another  was  found  to  take  his  place, 
and  the  two  were  interred  in  the  same  sepulchre, 
which  was  quite  large  enough.  If,  on  the  contrary, 
some  long-lived  bovine  had  the  temerity  to  exist 
beyond  his  allotted  period,  he  was,  after  due  religious 
preparations  and  warnings  given  to  him,  incon- 
tinently ducked  in  the  Nile  until  he  was  dead.  After 
the  execution  the  body  of  the  defunct  was  carefully 
embalmed,  and,  escorted  by  every  one,  king,  nobles, 
army,  and  people,  it  was  placed,  with  due  decorum 
and  solemn  ritual,  in  the  coffin  years  before  prepared 
for  its  reception.  For  as  soon  as  one  bull  died  the 
sepulchre  for  his  successor  was  begun,  in  the  rocks 
underlying  the  Libyan  sands.  Five  hundred  miles 
away,  up  the  Nile  at  Syene,  an  immense  block 
of  granite  was  cut  out  of  the  mountains,  and 
with  incredible  labour  and  patience,  fashioned  into 
the  shape  that  we  see  it  to-day.  It  came  down 
the  tranquil  river  in  a large  flat  boat  constructed 
especially  for  its  safe  conveyance  to  Memphis,  and 
was  carried  through  the  city  of  the  living  to  the 
city  of  the  dead,  built  on  the  sands  of  the  Libyan 
desert.  Then,  with  “ dirges  due  and  sad  array,”  it 
was  borne  on  a gigantic  sled,  drawn  by  many  horses, 
to  the  place  of  interment.  There,  with  devious 


54 


EGYPTIAN  SKE7CHES. 


toil,  and  by  means  that  we  do  not  certainly  know, 
it  was  taken  hundreds  of  feet  under  the  earth, 
transported  along  the  lateral  passages  to  the  sepul- 
chre, where  it  was  finally  to  remain  and  wait  for  its 
burden. 

For  the  ceremonies  attendant  on  the  reception 
of  the  stone  coffin  from  Syene  were  only  less  impres- 
sive than  the  burial  of  the  historic  Apis  himself. 
All  this  took  place  just  where  the  sands  of  the  desert 
meet  the  level  plain  yearly  covered  by  the  Nile  in 
its  rising.  On  this  plain  once  stood  Memphis, 
perhaps  the  first  capital  city  that  was  ever  built  on 
this  earth.  It  was  old  and  decaying  when  Jonah 
was  describing  the  glories  and  prophesying  the  fall 
of  Nineveh.  It  was  a sacred  shrine  even  then 
hoary  with  antiquity,  when  Nebuchadnezzar  fed 
upon  grass  and  roots  for  seven  years  near  the 
hanging  gardens  of  his  palace  in  Babylon.  Some 
old  chronicler  says  that  the  Nile  once  ran  where 
afterwards  stood  Memphis,  and  that  Menes  turned 
the  river  more  to  the  east  in  order  to  build  his  new 
city  on  its  dry  and  fertile  bed,  loamy  with  yielding 
deposit. 

Unless  they  had  high  embankments  on  the  Nile 
the  city  must  have  been  covered  with  water  for  two 
or  three  months  every  year  at  the  time  of  the  rise 
of  the  river.  There  are  no  traces  of  these  possible 
embankments  remaining,  and  as  the  ground  is  low, 


SAKKARA  AND  MEMPHIS. 


55 

it  would  have  involved  a great  deal  of  labour,  some 
evidence  of  which  ought  yet  to  exist.  So  one  is 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  they  must  have  walked 
around  in  boats  during  that  period.  The  temples, 
especially  the  Grand  Temple  to  Ptah,  which  was 
the  Memphian  name  for  the  sun,  were  built  upon 
elevated  terraces,  and  in  all  the  houses,  even  of  the 
poorest,  the  door-sills  were  about  two  feet  above  the 
streets. 

The  houses  were  of  large  heavy  bricks,  made  of 
Nile  mud  baked  in  the  sun.  The  bricks  were 
eighteen  inches  long,  fifteen  wide,  and  four  inches 
thick.  They  make  the  same  kind  of  bricks  to-day,  and 
most  of  the  villages  on  the  Nile  are  built  of  them. 
These  bricks  resist  the  action  of  water  wonderfully 
well,  and  when  the  summer  comes  are  almost  as 
hard  and  solid  as  if  of  stone. 

Memphis  must  have  been  a very  large  city,  but  no 
accurate  statement  of  its  population  and  extent  has 
ever  come  down  to  us.  It  was  the  capital  of  Egypt 
for  over  twenty-five  centuries,  until  some  of  the 
later  Pharaohs  built  Thebes,  a hundred  leagues 
farther  up  the  river. 

In  Raineses’  time,  fourteen  centuries  before  Christ, 
Thebes  was  the  principal  city,  and  Memphis  held 
only  a secondary  place.  All  the  Pyramids  were 
built  by  the  Memphian  Pharaohs,  including  those 
of  Sakkara  as  well  as  the  Great  Pyramids.  The 


56 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


Sphinx  was  also  carved  out  of  the  solid  rock  by  one 
of  its  monarehs.  They  worshipped  the  bull  even  in 
those  early  days,  and  drawings  have  been  discovered, 
on  some  of  the  most  ancient  tombs,  illustrating  the 
obsequies  of  the  dead  bull-god.  The  men  wore  only 
a cloth  extending  from  the  waist  to  the  knee.  The 
dress  of  the  women  was  nearly  the  same  as  the  men. 
Soldiers  and  statesmen,  Pharaohs  and  peasants,  had 
no  other  costume.  The  priests  in  the  temple,  the 
soldiers  in  the  camp,  the  tillers  in  the  fields,  were 
all  dressed  alike.  One  might  believe  that  it  must 
have  been  appreciably  warmer  in  Egypt  five 
thousand  years  ago  than  it  is  now,  for  that  little 
covering  to  the  form  would  hardly  suffice  for  the 
many  cold  days  that  every  winter  brings  to  Cairo. 
Cairo  is  only  ten  miles  south  of  Memphis  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Nile. 

The  plain  of  Memphis  extends  twenty  miles  up 
and  down  the  river,  and  is  two  or  three  miles  wide 
back  to  the  sandy  hills  where  the  dead  are  buried. 

We  are  given  to  understand  that  all  this  space 
was  included  in  the  city  walls.  But  then,  like 
Nineveh  and  Babylon  of  later  days,  it  was  not 
wholly  covered  with  houses.  Many  parts  of  the 
enclosed  space  were  cultivated,  and  they  could  grow 
two  crops  every  year.  It  was  said  that  Memphis 
could  raise  within  its  walls  enough  of  lentils  and 
rice  to  supply  its  immense  population  for  half  the 


SAKKARA  AND  MEMPHIS. 


57 


year.  It  gradually  fell  into  ruin  after  the  capital 
was  removed  to  Thebes. 

But  before  then  it  had  been  attacked  and  taken 
several  times  by  foreign  enemies,  and  doubtless 
many  of  the  public  buildings  destroyed.  To-day 
the  whole  of  the  site  is  covered  with  palm  groves. 

Many  acres  are  cultivated,  and  they  produce 
famous  cotton  in  the  very  precincts  of  the  Grand 
Temple  of  Ptah,  perhaps  the  first  grand  shrine  of 
a people  or  nation  to  the  Hereafter  that  ever  was 
erected. 

There  is  absolutely  nothing  left  of  the  old  city 
except  the  granite  statue  of  Rameses,  and  that  is 
very  modern,  having  been  placed  opposite  the 
temple  of  Ptah  only  thirty-three  centuries  ago, 
when  Memphis  was  in  its  decadence. 


58 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  PYRAMIDS. 

To  visit  the  Pyramids  in  September  is  decidedly 
different  from  going  in  December.  In  the  former 
month  the  Nile  is  in  inundation,  and  spreads  far  and 
wide  over  the  land  ; in  the  latter  it  is  confined  to  its 
original  channel.  We  started  out  one  burning 
morning — Mile.  Rose,  her  brother,  and  myself. 
Mile.  Rose  is  a young  Egyptian  Jewess,  born  and 
raised  in  Cairo,  as  were  her  parents  and  grand- 
parents. At  the  Cairo  private  schools  she  acquired 
a knowledge  of  English,  French,  Italian,  all  of 
which  she  talks  fairly,  Arabic  being  her  native 
tongue,  as  it  is  in  fact  the  language  of  the  whole  of 
the  East.  Her  father  was  my  landlord,  living  in 
the  neighbouring  mansion,  and  Rose  and  myself 
naturally  became  well  acquainted.  She  may  not  be 
as  famous  as  Byron’s  “ Maid  of  Athens,”  but  to  my 
mind  she  is  quite  as  pretty,  with  her  midnight 
tresses,  lustrous  eyes,  and  clear  white  face.  These 
Egyptian  girls,  when  beautiful,  are  all  of  the 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


59 


Cleopatra  type — dark  and  haughty.  They  have  not 
much  education,  hut  they  do  not  need  it.  Learning 
is  a useless  incumbrance  to  them.  I must  say 
also,  with  truth,  that  the  mysteries  of  the  kitchen, 
sewing,  and  all  those  other  accomplishments  which 
we  consider  so  necessary  to  our  ladies,  are  trifles 
wdiich  do  not  trouble  the  Egyptian  girls.  All 
Mile.  Rose  did,  that  I knew  of,  was  gathering 
flowers  in  the  late  afternoon  when  it  was  cool,  and — - 
smoking  cigarettes  after  dinner  in  the  moonlight. 

I dislike  to  say  it,  but  it  is  lamentably  true  that 
every  one  in  Egypt,  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages,  is 
addicted  to  the  abominable  cigarette.  From  the 
girl  of  twelve  to  the  great-grandmother  of  seventy, 
they  all  smoke.  I have  often  remonstrated  with 
Rose,  saying  that  her  fair  sisters  in  England  and 
America  would  be  shocked  at  such  doings ; but  she 
replied,  “ Oh,  well,  if  they  lived  in  Cairo  and  had 
nothinc'  to  do  but  look  at  the  sun  and  the  moon 
and  gather  bouquets,  perhaps  they  would  like 
a cigarette  also.”  I had  no  answer  to  give  to  this 
kind  of  logic,  so  said  nothing. 

Mile.  Rose  and  her  brother  had  lived  in  Cairo  all 
their  lives,  yet  this  was  their  first  visit  to  the 
Pyramids,  though  but  six  miles  away.  On  the  road 
by  Gizerah  we  passed  a large  palace,  which  was 
built  by  Ismail  Pasha  for  the  reception  of  the 
Empress  Eugenie  when  she  visited  Egypt  on  the 


6o 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


opening  of  the  Suez  Canal.  Rose  told  me  en  route  a 
curious  legend,  which,  she  says,  is  firmly  believed  in 
by  all  the  Arabs,  and  is  now  chanted  at  the  street 
corners  in  the  moonlight  with  the  dreamy  tales 
of  the  “ Arabian  Nights.” 

There  formerly  dwelt  in  Cairo  a venerable  dervish 
who  had  made  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  three  times. 
He  lived  in  the  odour  of  sanctity,  and  was  reputed 
to  have  often  foretold  events  before  they  had  hap- 
pened. Eugenie  was  very  superstitious,  and,  hear- 
ing of  this  old  hermit  and  astrologer,  conceived  the 
idea  of  going  to  see  what  he  might  say.  Accord- 
ingly, one  evening  she  dressed  in  very  ordinary 
costume,  and,  attended  by  only  one  faithful  servant, 
slipped  out  of  the  palace  by  a secluded  entrance 
through  the  garden,  and  went  to  the  house  of  the 
old  man.  She  had  no  sooner  entered,  not  having 
yet  removed  her  veil,  when  he  arose,  made  a low 
obeisance,  and  said — 

“ Welcome  ! You  are  thrice  welcome,  oh  empress, 
to  my  humble  abode.” 

Eugenie,  astonished  and  troubled,  said,  “ How 
do  you  know  I am  the  empress,  and  who  told  you 
I was  coming  here  ? ” 

The  dervish  replied,  “ The  stars  and  Mahomet 
know  everything.  I knew  since  your  arrival  in 
Egypt  that  you  would  come  to  me,  and  I.  have 
patiently  awaited  every  night,  for  afterwards  I am 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


61 


commanded  by  Allah  to  make  my  last  journey  to 
Mecca  and  die.” 

The  empress,  tortured  by  doubts  and  fears,  was 
about  to  leave,  for  she  feared  what  this  mysterious 
man  might  tell  her ; but  her  haughty  Castilian 
blood  was  aroused,  and  she  turned  to  him  proudly, 
saying,  “ Well,  then,  I am  the  empress.  That  is 
true,  though  I cannot  understand  how  you  know  it, 
for  I have  told  no  one  except  the  attendant  with 
me.  But  never  mind  that.  Tell  me  what  you  can 
of  my  future,  and  tell  me  truly.”  She  offered  him 
at  the  same  time  the  palm  of  her  hand  to  scan,  as  is 
the  custom  with  the  gipsies. 

But  the  old  seer  did  not  touch  the  jewelled  fingers. 
Raising  himself  to  his  full  height  and  dropping  his 
staff',  he  held  his  hands  aloft  as  in  invocation  to 
Allah,  and,  looking  down  pityingly  on  the  dark 
figure  of  the  empress,  who  stood  motionless  below 
him,  he  murmured,  “ There  is  no  God  but  God,  and 
Mahomet  is  His  prophet.  At  your  birth  the  stars 
foretold  for  you  great  power  and  greater  sorrow. 
For  your  happiness  will  be  only  temporary,  while 
your  sorrow  will  last  for  ever.  You  are  doomed  to 
lose  your  country,  your  throne,  your  husband,  and 
your  son,  and  wander  alone  through  the  world  like 
a lost  star.  These  events  will  not  happen  at  once, 
for  the  blow  would  kill  you,  and  your  punishment 
would  not  be  sufficient.  To  you  as  empress  it  will 


62 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


not  be  permitted  to  enter  tbe  land  of  your  dead  son 
and  husband  except  by  permission  of  those  you 
now  despise.  You  will  have  to  seek  a home  with 
strangers,  and  the  dress  of  woe  will  never  leave 
your  form.  Your  jewels  will  be  but  teardrops,  and 
your  rich  robes  as  a dry  oasis  in  the  desert.  I have 
said.” 

He  had  scarce  ceased  when  the  empress,  frenzied 
with  rage  and  terror,  threw  at  his  feet  a purse  of 
gold,  crying,  “ Oh,  you  base  impostor  ! Take  the 
fruit  of  your  lies  and  let  me  out  of  this  den.”  And 
she  turned  quickly  and  ran  out  into  the  fresh  night 
air,  followed  by  her  attendant ; not  so  soon,  how- 
ever, but  that  the  last  words  of  the  old  Arab  came 
distinctly  to  her  ears — 

“ There  is  no  God  hut  God,  and  Mahomet  is  His 
prophet.  Though  you  refuse  to  believe  and  try  to 
forget  now,  yet  is  what  I say  true,  and  hereafter 
you  will  remember.  For  it  is  writ  in  the  stars  and 
the  Book  of  the  Prophet,  and  will  commence  before 
you  are  aware.” 

The  next  day,  afraid  that  she  might  complain  of 
him  to  the  Khedive,  the  old  astrologer  hastened  to 
leave  Cairo,  but  was  taken  ill  and  died  shortly 
afterwards  on  the  road  to  Mecca.  This  was  in 
18G9. 

The  Empress  returned  to  France,  and  the  next 
year  came  the  war  and  Sedan,  followed  by  the  death 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


6 3 


of  Napoleon  at  Chislehurst,  and  that  of  the  Prince 
Imperial  in  South  Africa  ! 

In  the  course  of  a couple  of  hours  we  were  at  the 
base  of  the  big  Pyramid.  The  inundation  extended 
from  the  Nile  to  the  foot  of  the  rocky  terrace  upon 
which  the  Pyramids  are  built,  a distance  of  five 
miles.  It  was  about  five  feet  deep,  and  would  easily 
float  flat-bottomed  boats,  loaded  with  the  stones  of 
which  the  Pyramids  are  constructed.  So,  after  all, 
it  could  not  have  been  so  very  difficult  to  bring 
them  there,  for  the  quarries  are  only  a few  miles 
up  the  river  on  the  other  side,  and  it  must  have 
been  easy  to  quarry  and  transport  on  boats  of  light 
draught  right  to  the  foot  of  the  plateau,  a sufficient 
quantity  of  rock  to  keep  the  workmen  employed 
during  the  dry  months  when  the  Nile  recedes. 

Pose  valiantly  said  she  would  go  with  us  to  the 
top,  being  induced  thereto,  as  she  confessed  after- 
wards, by  the  dread  of  being  left  alone  with  the 
fierce-looking  Arabs  who  swarmed  around  us  the 
moment  we  arrived.  There  is  a tribe  of  desert 
Arabs  to  whom,  with  their  sheikh,  the  Khedive 
has  granted  the  privilege  of  caring  for  the  Pyramids. 
Their  number  is  forty,  and  cannot  be  exceeded. 
They  are  the  most  accomplished  beggars  in  exist- 
ence, and  talk  all  languages  equally  badly.  They 
would  get  at  the  purse  of  a Yankee  wooden- 
nutmeg  vendor,  or  induce  a Methodist  parson  to 


64 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


surrender  some  of  his  hard-earned  missionary  money. 

I made  a solemn  agreement  with  them  at  the  begin- 
ning, for  I had  been  there  before,  that  they  were 
to  show  our  party  every  one  of  the  sights  for 
three  dollars,  backsheesh  and  all.  The  compact  was 
not  signed  and  sealed  in  blood,  but  it  was  made 
in  the  presence  of  our  whole  party,  the  coachman 
and  horses  included,  on  one  side,  and  of  the  sheikh 
and  his  head  men  on  the  other;  When  we  left, 
four  hours  afterwards,  tired  and  exhausted,  they  had 
extracted  from  my  pockets  three  sovereigns,  in  lieu 
of  three  dollars,  and  I thought  that  I was  a pretty 
good  American  in  looking  out  for  myself  abroad. 
If  ever  I go  again,  I will  only  take  a certain  sum 
with  me ; that  is  the  safest  remedy  I can  suggest. 

Well,  we  got  to  the  top,  took  photographs  by  the 
“ Kodak,”  came  part  way  down,  entered  the  King’s 
and  Queen’s  chambers,  ascended  the  third  Pyramid 
to  a certain  height,  and  went  beneath  the  rock  to 
visit  its  burial-chambers  also.  After  trying  to 
count  the  stones  of  which  the  third  Pyramid  is 
composed,  and  then  estimating  the  number  of  years 
that  a woman,  even  a princess  of  those  days,  lived, 
I think  that  Herodotus  is  an  old  humbug,  and  that 
the  chronicler  of  the“  Arabian  Nights”  is  a respect- 
able paragon  of  veracity  compared  with  the  old 
Greek,  who  tells  us  these  yarns  with  such  becoming 
sedateness. 


the  pyramids.  To  face  page  G4. 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


65 


Most  of  the  present  crop  of  Egyptologists  are 
agreed  that  the  Pyramids  were  built  over  six  thou- 
sand years  ago  ; that  is  to  say,  in  the  era  of  the 
fourth  dynasty,  four  thousand  two  hundred  years 
before  Christ.  It  must  be  remembered  that  we  have 
learned  very  much  more  now  of  ancient  Egyptian 
history  than  was  known  in  the  days  of  Herodotus. 
In  that  era  there  were  no  Greek  scholars  in  Egypt ; 
nor  were  there  histories  or  any  information  by 
which  people  in  general,  even  if  they  could  read, 
would  have  been  able  to  gather  the  history  of  these 
lands.  The  priests,  who  were  a hereditary  caste, 
and  who  served  in  the  temples,  the  son  taking  his 
father’s  place,  had  meagre  details  of  each  king’s  reign 
and  each  dynasty’s  existence  inscribed  on  papyrus 
paper  and  placed  as  archives  within  the  inner  sanc- 
tuaries of  the  larger  temples.  Herodotus  did  not 
see  these,  of  course,  for  he  was  a Greek,  and,  besides, 
could  not  read  the  hieroglyphic  language  in  which 
they  were  written ; but  the  priests  told  him  many 
things  which  he  has  recounted. 

A hundred  years  or  so  afterwards,  in  the  fourth 
century  before  Christ,  one  Manetho,  an  Egyptian 
priest,  acquired  the  Greek  language.  He  went  to 
work  and  copied  from  the  archives  of  the  temple 
at  Heliopolis,  to  which  he  was  attached,  the  list  of 
dynasties  and  kings  which  he  found  inscribed  there, 
and,  so  to  speak,  published  it  in  Greek.  This  is  the 


66 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


first  and  only  complete  list  of  the  Pharaohs  of  ancient 
Egypt  that  has  ever  been  known,  and  is  the  source 
from  which  all  subsequent  writers  draw  their  supplies. 
But  part  of  Manetho’s  book  has  been  lost,  and  so, 
like  a puzzle,  every  one  has  since  been  filling  in  the 
lacuna  as  his  knowledge,  judgment,  and  prejudices 
prompt. 

Thus  it  is  that  writers  differ  so  much  in  the 
ancient  chronology  of  Egypt.  It  would  not  have 
given  rise  to  such  great  arguments,  perhaps,  were 
it  not  that  the  chronology  of  the  Bible  comes  into 
question.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to  reconcile  the 
four  thousand  and  four  years  from  the  Deluge  to 
the  coming  of  Christ,  given  in  the  margin  of  our 
Bibles,  with  the  twenty-six  consecutive  dynasties  of 
Manetho,  extending  over  a period  of  five  thousand 
years,  without  counting  the  four  centuries  intervening 
between  the  Egyptian  priest  and  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era. 

But  there  has  been  one  certain  method  of  finding 
out  little  by  little  the  truth  of  Manetho’s  statements. 
Every  Pharaoh  of  old  Egypt  had  a fashion  of 
leaving  behind,  before  he  was  well  mummified,  some 
sculpture,  or  some  obelisk,  or  some  building  or  part 
of  a building,  on  which  he  had  inscribed  his  name. 
He  also  left  his  cartouche,  a medallion  cut  in  the 
rock,  which  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than  his 
visiting  card.  On  it  was  written  not  only  his  own 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


67 


name,  but  the  names  of  the  Pharaohs  of  his  own 
dynasty  who  had  preceded  him,  and  usually  also 
the  dynasties  that  existed  prior  to  that  as  well. 
Thus  every  cartouche  found  is  a little  epitome  of 
history  in  itself,  and  serves  to  fix  the  date  of  the 
monarch’s  reign  indubitably  in  the  minds  of 
Egyptologists. 

Fifty  years  ago,  very  little  indeed  was  known 
of  Egyptian  history  before  the  days  of  Herodotus. 
It  was  shrouded  in  darkness  and  mystery,  as  it  had 
been  since  the  Roman  conquest.  But  two  men, 
Belzoni  and  Bruce,  each  for  himself,  came  over  to 
Egypt  on  an  antiquarian  tour.  They  obtained  per- 
mission from  Mehemet  Ali,  the  reigning  Khedive, 
and  commenced  digging.  One  of  them  found  some 
tombs  of  the  kings  up  the  Nile,  near  Thebes.  The 
other  effected  an  entrance  into  two  of  the  Pyramids, 
and  found  in  the  third  largest  one  a mummy  and 
case,  which,  as  usual,  were  sent  to  England,  where 
all  the  good  things  go.  The  success  of  these  inves- 
tigations stimulated  inquiry  and  research.  Associa- 
tions were  formed  in  various  countries  of  Europe, 
funds  were  subscribed,  and  a uniform  system  of 
excavation,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Egyptian 
Government,  was  commenced,  and  is  kept  up  to 
this  day.  There  are  English,  French,  and  German 
Egyptian  Exploration  Societies,  and  each  institution 
has  its  representatives  here,  who  yearly  send  home 


68 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


the  reports  of  their  labour,  and  very  often  also  send 
the  things  that  they  find.  But  the  present  Egyptian 
Government  has  very  properly  established  new  regu- 
lations. Nowadays,  when  any  discovery  is  made, 
the  antiques  found,  whether  mummies,  sculptures? 
or  anything  else,  are  first  submitted  to  the  head  of 
the  National  Museum  at  Cairo.  Everything  that  is 
original,  or  of  a new  type,  or  peculiarly  valuable,  is 
retained  for  the  museum  ; the  rest  goes  to  the  country 
of  the  explorer.  For  this  reason  the  choicest  finds 
remain  in  Egypt,  where  they  of  right  ought  to  be. 
Innumerable  little  statuettes  of  the  various  gods  and 
goddesses  that  constituted  the  Egyptian  Pantheon 
are  unearthed  from  time  to  time,  and  as  these  are 
mostly  duplicates,  they  are  permitted  to  leave  the 
country,  and  can  be  found  in  the  Egyptian  depart- 
ment of  most  European  museums. 

These  last  fifty  years  of  laborious  and  scientific 
research  have  opened  to  us  a vista  of  the  past 
history  of  the  oldest  nation  in  the  world.  The 
Egyptians  have  done  everything  they  could  to  help 
us  and  prevent  themselves  from  being  forgotten. 
Almost  every  individual  of  importance  had  written 
on  his  coffin,  in  indelible  characters,  his  name, 
occupation,  where  he  lived,  and  the  name  of  the 
Pharaoh  who  then  sat  on  the  throne  of  Egypt. 
Many  of  them  had  also  placed  within  their  coffins 
rolls  of  papyri,  giving  an  account  of  themselves  and 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


69 

family  in  great  detail,  and,  once  in  a while,  of  some 
important  event,  connected  with  the  history  of  Egypt, 
that  occurred  during  their  life.  These  writings  are 
read  to-day  with  almost  as  much  ease  as  Greek  and 
Latin.  In  Cairo  there  are  men  who  can,  and  do 
occasionally,  converse  in  the  old  hieroglyphic  lan- 
guage. Does  it  not  seem  strange  that  this  language, 
used  daily  for  fifty  centuries  by  a cultivated,  intelli- 
gent people,  was  so  entirely  lost  to  the  world  that 
these  hieroglyphics  became  wholly  unintelligible 
until  less  than  a century  ago  ! It  appears  impossible 
that  this  could  have  occurred,  as  Egypt  was  always 
known,  inhabited,  and  in  daily  connection  with  the 
civilized  world  from  the  remotest  times  ; and  one  can 
only  wonder,  when  a language  was  thus  buried  like 
Pompeii  for  two  thousand  years,  what  kind  of  people 
were  those  who  lived  in  the  dark  ages  when  it 
happened.  All  this  easily  explains  the  reason  why 
so  little  was  known  of  Egypt  a thousand  years  ago, 
compared  with  our  present  knowledge.  Late  last 
century,  at  Rosetta  in  Egypt,  was  found  a stone  of 
black  polished  basalt.  It  had  long  inscriptions  in 
three  languages,  one  in  the  Greek,  one  in  the  cunei- 
form or  Assyrian,  and  one  in  the  hieroglyphic  or 
old  Egyptian.  Champollion,  a French  savant,  found 
that  this  was  a stone  set  up  by  the  priest  of  a 
certain  temple  in  Lower  Egypt,  thanking  one  of  the 
Ptolemies  for  repairing  their  sacred  edifice  in  an 


70 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


inscription  identical  in  the  three  languages.  There- 
fore, by  comparing  the  Greek  with  the  cuneiform 
and  hieroglyphic  characters,  a number  of  letters  of 
the  latter  language  were  deciphered.  With  these 
as  guides,  the  rest  was  easily  acquired,  so  that  if  old 
Rameses  should  arise  from  his  coffin  at  the  Gizerah 
Museum,  where  he  lies,  a king  among  kings,  he 
could  easily  find  some  one  to  converse  with  him 
in  his  own  tongue.  And  if  he  was  told  that  he 
had  slept  three  thousand  years,  at  first  he  would  not 
believe  it. 

For  he  would  see  the  Pyramids  looking  not  a day 
older  than  when  he  last  gazed  upon  them.  The  Nile 
itself,  the  old  sweet  serpent  Nile,  would  be  flowing  in 
the  same  channel,  just  as  quiet,  stately,  and  gentle  as 
when  he  took  the  mummy  of  his  father  across  in  the 
Golden  Boat,  and  placed  it  in  its  regal  sarcophagus 
amid  the  rock-tombs  of  Thebes,  his  capital  city.  The 
brown  and  sunburnt  girls  of  Egypt,  with  their  erect, 
lithe  forms,  would  pass  before  him,  carrying  on  their 
heads  the  same  kind  of  water-jar  that  he  so  well 
remembered.  The  same  glass  bracelets  were  on  their 
arms,  the  same  silver  and  bronze  serpents  on  their  bare 
ankles.  The  same  bead  necklaces  were  wound  about 
their  throats,  and  their  black  tresses  were  covered 
with  the  ancient  nets,  many  of  which  still  lie  buried 
on  their  owners’  brows,  deep  in  the  cool  recesses  of 
the  Memphian  necropolis.  He  would  find  nothing 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


7i 


changed.  Ra  shone  just  as  kindly  and  warmly  as 
when,  on  the  confines  of  Syria,  single-handed  he 
held  a whole  army  at  bay.  It  was  still  the  great 
god,  imparting  vigour  and  life  to  all  breathing 
beings  in  the  world.  Osiris,  Isis,  and  Horus  were 
yet  represented  on  the  obelisk  at  On  or  Heliopolis, 
which  was  ages  old  when  he  was  born.  How  well 
he  remembered  the  day  when  he  returned  thither, 
a triumphant  conqueror  over  the  Khita  and  the 
Amorites ! How  well  he  remembered  being  drawn 
in  his  chariot  to  the  sacrifice  at  the  Temple  of  the  Sun, 
by  the  six  kings  whom  he  had  brought  captive  in 
his  train  ! But  where  was  this  temple  now  ? That, 
without  a doubt,  was  the  old  obelisk  of  Osurtasen  of 
blessed  memory ! But  where  was  its  brother  com- 
panion, that  kept  watch  and  ward  with  it,  like  tall 
giants,  over  the  world  below  ? Where  was  the 
avenue  of  sphinxes  leading  up  to  the  temple  doors 
from  the  two  obelisks  ? Not  one  was  there.  Yet 
he  remembered  that  he  had  himself  repaired  two  of 
them,  placed  there  two  thousand  years  before  by  the 
same  Osurtasen.  It  was  strange  that  they  should 
have  gone  too.  And  the  grand  temple,  with  its 
glorious  statues  of  Osiris  and  Anubis,  with  its  golden 
doors,  its  grand  courts  and  lofty  colonnades,  through 
which  he  used  to  wander  with  the  high  priest, 
communing  on  the  mysticism  of  life,  while  the  god- 
dess Isis,  high  up  in  the  heavens,  sent  to  him  in 


72 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


the  coolness  of  the  night  her  beneficent  and  silver 
rays.  Ah,  where  was  that  indeed  ? 

And  why  did  not  the  hundreds  of  priests,  who 
then  made  their  abode  at  the  grand  Temple  of  the 
Sun,  come  forth  in  a procession  to  meet  him, 
Rameses,  as  formerly,  with  clashing  of  cymbals  and 
bowed  heads,  singing  the  praises  of  Ra,  the  sun-god  ? 
And  now  he  remembered  also  that  none  of  those 
big-nosed  slaves  of  Jews  from  the  south,  whom  he 
made  to  build  his  temples  at  Thebes  and  his  grand 
structures  throughout  Egypt,  had  been  seen  by 
him.  It  was  true  that  the  leader  of  them,  after 
killing  an  Egyptian  soldier  of  his  army,  had,  in  fear 
of  him,  run  away  from  justice  and  punishment, 
and  hid  far  from  Egypt  in  the  deserts  of  Arabia. 
Could  it  have  been  possible  that  this  despised 
Hebrew,  this  Moses,  had  dared  to  return  and  take 
his  people  away  from  Egypt,  as  he  had  heard  he 
once  said  he  would  do  ? And  why  did  his  soldiers 
and  his  people  permit  them  to  go  ? Why  did  they 
not  yet  work  according  to  the  tasks  he  had  given 
them,  making  bricks  without  straw,  and  building 
more  monuments  to  the  everlasting  fame  of  Ra  and 
Rameses  ? 

The  old  Pharaoh  would  not  understand  this,  nor 
many  other  events  that  have  occurred  since  he  was 
placed  by  the  side  of  his  father  and  grandfather. 

Yet,  as  he  went  back  across  the  Nile  toward  the 


RAMESES  H. 


To  face  page  72. 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


73 


Gizerah,  there  in  the  waters  was  the  lotus,  the  fruit 
of  serpent  Nile,  which  he  had  so  much  loved, 
and,  with  the  older  Pharaohs,  chosen  as  his  symbol 
in  the  capitals  of  his  grand  temples.  And  there, 
side  by  side,  were  the  papyri  whereon  he  had  caused 
to  be  written  by  the  priest-scribes  the  glorious 
history  of  his  long  reign  of  sixty-seven  years,  with 
its  victories,  its  triumphs  and  marches,  his  own 
exploits,  and  the  number  of  captives  he  had  brought 
into  Egypt. 

And  he  entered  the  museum,  seeing  on  all  sides, 
in  the  dim  light  of  Isis,  well-remembered  images 
and  cartouches  of  the  Pharaohs  who  had  preceded 
him  on  the  throne  of  Menes.  There  they  were  in 
the  cold  moonlight,  seeming  to  invite  him  to  repose 
and  rest.  And  so  he  sank  down  in  the  sarcophagus, 
from  whence  he  had  risen  only  a little  while  before, 
thinking — what  ? 

As  we  came  up  from  the  depths  of  the  third 
Pyramid  we  saw  a number  of  Arabs,  men,  women, 
and  children,  removing  the  rubbish,  which  lay  many 
feet  thick,  piled  upon  the  base  of  the  Pyramid. 
On  investigating  we  found  that  they  were  re- 
moving the  casing  rocks  imbedded  in  the  rubbish, 
and  carrying  them  on  their  backs  to  a little  terrace 
below  the  Great  Pyramid. 

There,  to  my  horror,  I found  a number  of  masons 
and  workmen  engaged  in  shaping  these  rocks  for 


74 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


the  construction  of  a hotel,  then  rapidly  nearing 
completion.  Just  think  of  it!  After  covering  the 
third  Pyramid  with  their  polished  surfaces  for  sixty 
centuries,  they  are  now  being  taken  away  to  serve 
the  base  purposes  of  a tourists’  hotel ! And  this 
is  being  done  by  the  English,  for  an  Englishman 
has  the  privilege  from  the  Khedive  of  using  these 
casing-stones  for  his  hotel.  Of  course  the  Khedive 
never  would  have  granted  such  a permission,  so 
much  against  the  sentiment  of  his  people,  his  country, 
and  the  whole  world,  if  the  English  had  not  control 
in  Egypt.  It  must  have  been  forced  from  him ; and 
I can  only  express  my  complete  surprise  and  disap- 
pointment that  Sir  Evelyn  Baring,  the  real  master 
here,  permitted  this  thing  to  be  done.  There  is  no 
record,  in  all  the  ages  past,  of  anything  but  temples 
for  the  dead  ever  having  been  erected  on  the  plateau 
where  stand  the  Pyramids  and  the  Sphinx.  These 
works  of  the  long-distant  days  have  stood  alone 
and  solitary,  the  men  of  later  and  lesser  eras  not 
having  dared  to  build  or  dwell  near  or  among  them. 
This  casing,  which  remained  as  it  fell  for  countless 
ages,  now,  in  this  “ glorious  nineteenth  century,”  is 
taken  away  in  wicker  baskets  to  make  a ten-shilling- 
a-day  hotel. 

About  a thousand  years  ago  the  son  of  Caliph 
Haroun  al-Itaschid,  of  “ Arabian  Nights  ” legends, 
found,  after  long  researches,  the  entrance  to  the 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


75 


principal  Pyramid.  He  hoped  to  discover  treasure, 
and  broke  up  the  flooring  in  the  centre  of  the  King’s 
chamber,  where  stands  the  red  granite  sarcophagus, 
the  object  of  such  fanatical  attention  and  mystery 
by  Piazzi  Smith,  Grant  Bey,  and  many  other  savants. 
Piazzi  Smith,  who  was  the  Egyptologist  of  the 
British  Museum,  wrote  a ponderous  volume  of  six 
hundred  pages  to  prove  that  this  sarcophagus,  which 
he  declares  is  the  exact  centre  of  the  physical  mun- 
dane world,  is  the  unit  of  measure  and  weight  from 
whence  have  been  derived  all  the  weights  and 
measures  now  in  existence.  He  also  holds  that  the 
builders  of  the  Pyramid  must  have  known,  from 
these  facts,  the  dimensions  of  the  world,  and  that 
it  was  round.  He  asserts  I do  not  know  how  many 
other  plausible  and  interesting  things,  and  finally 
proclaims  that  this  immense  structure,  costing  the 
labour  of  one  hundred  thousand  men  for  twenty 
years,  which  has  been  the  marvel  and  wonder  of 
mankind  and  the  world  from  its  first  building  to 
the  present  time,  had  for  its  only  purpose  and  design 
the  reception  of  this  simple  lidless  sarcophagus. 
He  does  not  believe  the  mummy  of  Cheops  the 
builder,  or  any  other  mummy  of  past-and-gone 
Pharaohs,  at  any  time  reclined  at  comfortable  ease 
away  from  the  glare  and  dust  in  this  spacious  and 
vaulted  apartment. 

I advise  every  one  who  takes  an  interest  in  these 


7° 


Egyptian  puzzles  to  read  his  book.  For  curious  and 
ingenious  deductions  and  scintillating  theories,  drawn 
from  solid  scientific  knowledge  as  a basis,  this  matter- 
of-fact,  learned  individual  has  equalled  in  wild 
imaginings  and  intricate  plots  anything  written  by 
the  modern  novelist.  His  long  studies  and  many 
visits  to  the  Pyramid  seem  to  have  completely 
bewitched  him  and  transformed  didactic  science  into 
rampant  enthusiasm.  But  as  it  has  been  to  him,  so 
it  is  to  others.  The  doubt  that  will  always  remain 
as  to  whether  such  a marvellous  mausoleum  could 
have  been  made  for  only  one  body,  and  the  many 
peculiarities  of  its  formation,  lead  numbers  of  people 
to  evolve  reasons  for  its  existence  not  at  all  com- 
patible with  accepted  conclusions. 

We  do  not  even  know  how  the  stones,  weighing 
two  or  three  tons  each,  were  transported  up  the 
sides  of  the  Pyramid.  Dr.  Grant  Bey,  who  has 
lived  in  Cairo  for  twenty  years,  and  is  of  good  re- 
pute as  a savant,  contends  that  horses  walked  up  an 
inclined  causeway,  dragging  the  stones  after  them, 
and  then  went  down  on  the  other  side.  Mariette 
Bey,  the  antiquarian  who,  until  his  death,  was  in 
charge,  by  authority  of  the  Egyptian  Government, 
of  all  excavations  and  of  the  museum,  says  that  they 
had  no  horses  in  Egypt  at  that  time.  So  what  is 
one  going  to  do  when  the  giants  themselves  are  thus 
at  loggerheads  ? 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


77 


The  only  way  out  of  the  difficulty  is,  I think,  to 
believe  the  one  that  sounds  most  romantic  and 
attractive.  It  is  just  as  likely  to  be  true  as  any  of 
the  others. 

Mariette  Bey  was  one  of  those  men  who  fell  under 
the  glamour  and  the  weird  magnetism  of  these 
antique  Egyptian  lands,  with  their  glorious  edifices 
built  for  eternity  and  the  gods,  rather  than  for  time 
and  men.  He  was  a Frenchman,  and  came  to 
Egypt  thirty  odd  years  ago,  at  the  solicitation  of 
a French  Egyptian  Society,  to  make  some  little 
excavations. 

He  did  so,  sent  back  the  result,  and  remained. 
He  could  not  leave.  A fascination  stronger  than 
that  of  Hathor,  the  Egyptian  Venus,  held  him  in 
the  land  of  Cleopatra. 

It  was  then  the  custom  for  the  Khedive  to  grant 
permits  to  certain  persons,  foreigners  of  course,  to 
make  explorations.  They  could,  with  little  difficulty, 
on  payment  of  some  backsheesh,  take  with  them 
their  discoveries  and  leave  Egypt  denuded.  This 
was  done  principally  by  museums  and  other  public 
institutions  in  Europe,  but  still  it  was  wrong.  One 
could  see  a better  collection  of  Egyptian  antiquities 
in  most  of  the  European  capitals  than  in  Cairo. 
Mariette  witnessed  this  vandalism  and  resolved  to 
stop  it,  if  possible.  He  made  strong  representations 
to  the  Khedive.  The  latter  finally  refused  to  grant 


78 


EGYPT/AJV  SKETCHES. 


indiscriminate  permits,  and  a little  later  placed 
Mariette  in  charge  of  the  Egyptian  Museum,  such  as 
it  was,  which  then  existed  in  Cairo.  He  then,  as 
the  antiquarian  authority  of  the  native  Government, 
made  explorations  where  and  when  he  chose.  All 
works  and  excavations  undertaken  by  others  were 
under  his  authority  and  supervision,  while  the 
Government  retained  anything  found  which  it  was 
thought  desirable  to  keep  in  Egypt.  This  beneficent 
change  very  soon  made  the  museum  here  the  re- 
pository of  many  of  the  ancient  works  and  mummies, 
so  that  it  is  to-day  the  most  interesting  and  valuable 
receptacle  for  Egyptian  antiquities  in  existence,  as 
it  certainly  ought  to  be. 

Mariette  was  indefatigable,  and  as  pleasant  as  the 
Nile  in  spring  time,  except  when  he  met  a savant 
who  differed  from  him.  Then  dread  war  arose  and 
the  heavens  were  filled  with  clamour.  They  say  here 
that  he  and  Piazzi  Smith  could  never  meet  without 
a wordy  dispute,  and  that  they  both  heartily 
abhorred  each  other,  which  did  not  prevent  them, 
however,  from  going  at  it  again  hammer  and  tongs 
at  every  opportunity.  He  and  Grant  Bey  were 
going  to  the  Pyramids  one  evening,  and  the  phleg- 
matic Scotchman  became  so  angry  in  the  inevitable 
wrangle  which,  of  course,  took  place,  that  he  jumped 
from  the  carriage  and  footed  it  back  to  Cairo,  swear- 
ing he  would  never  talk  with  or  listen  to  Mariette 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


79 


Bey  again  as  long  as  he  lived.  It  has  always  been 
so  with  those  who  undertake  to  elucidate  the  mystery 
of  the  Pyramids,  though  to  most  it  seems  that  they 
are  immense  tombs,  and  nothing  more. 

There  are  a number  of  Pyramids  south  of  the 
three  largest  ones,  beyond  the  site  of  Memphis  on 
the  desert  slopes,  and  most  of  them  are  thought  to 
be  of  higher  antiquity  than  the  Great  Pyramids. 
They  are  not  so  large,  and  are  built  in  a crude,  in- 
artistic manner,  of  smaller  blocks  of  limestone.  The 
Step  Pyramid  of  Sakkara  is  composed  of  large  sun- 
dried  bricks,  and  is  so  called  because  it  is  constructed 
in  successive  platforms,  four  in  number.  This 
Pyramid  was  first  raised  to  a certain  height  almost 
square  up  to  the  top,  though  tapering  a little 
inwardly.  Then  a second  stage  was  built  on  the  top 
of  the  first  one,  leaving  a space  clear  to  the  edge  of 
the  first,  and  so  on  to  the  apex.  It  is  about  two 
hundred  feet  in  height,  and  is  said  to  be  the  very 
oldest  of  all  the  Pyramids.  Its  date  is  assigned  to 
the  third  dynasty,  about  five  centuries  before  the 
Great  Pyramid  was  built.  The  advance  in  archi- 
tecture and  finished  skill  between  the  rude  Step 
Pyramid  of  Sakkara  and  that  admirable  conception 
of  man’s  genius  and  power,  the  Great  Pyramid  of 
Cheops,  is  marvellous.  Five  hundred  years  in  those 
primaeval  days  would  seem  to  be  hardly  enough. 
The  Step  Pyramid,  as  well  as  all  the  others  at 


8o 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


Sakkara  in  the  Necropolis  of  Memphis,  were  un- 
questionably intended  as  tombs.  They  are  built  in 
a cemetery.  They  all  have  burial-chambers.  Coffins 
and  bodies  have  been  found  in  nearly  every  one  of 
them,  and  those  that  did  not  possess  such  had 
clearly  been  rifled. 

The  prospect  from  Sakkara  is  dreary  and  desolate. 
All  around  is  nothing  but  dead  wastes  of  drifting 
sand,  half  covering  yawning  shafts,  the  entrances  to 
tombs  that  have  been  discovered  and  opened  from 
time  to  time.  The  one  or  two  that  are  open  for 
the  inspection  of  visitors  have  to  be  continually  kept 
clear,  though  they  are  on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
No  need  here  for  men  to  guard  the  dead  from  the 
desecration  of  our  modern  ghouls. 

The  desert  takes  care  of  its  treasures  most  safely. 
A Stewart  or  a Vanderbilt  could  be  buried  here, 
and  in  a decade  the  tomb  would  be  covered  with  a 
white  shroud,  glistening  in  the  African  sun,  but 
telling  no  tale  of  what  slumbers  beneath.  The 
Libyan  Desert  is  like  the  sea.  It  gives  up  its  jewels 
only  after  many  centuries,  and  when  oblivion  has 
covered  all.  The  celebrated  tomb  of  Ti,  which  was 
discovered  only  thirty  or  forty  years  ago,  is  four 
thousand  five  hundred  years  old,  yet  the  sands 
have  kept  the  colours  and  pigments  on  the  walls  so 
fresh  and  clear  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  believe 
that  they  were  not  painted  this  century,  nay,  this 


THE  PYRAMIDS. 


8t 


very  generation.  The  almond-eyed  girls  carrying 
their  baskets,  filled  with  the  clustering  and  ripe 
fruits  of  the  Nile,  poised  on  their  heads  with  such 
charming  grace,  pass  before  us  on  the  walls  in  a 
long  procession,  as  we  may  see  them  day  by  day  in 
the  bazaars  of  Cairo. 


82 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  BOOK  OP  THE  DEAD. 

The  Egyptian  religion  nowhere  seems  to  give 
currency  to  the  idea  of  life  again  returning  to  dead 
bodies.  There  is,  however,  an  obscure  passage  in 
the  “ Book  of  the  Dead,”  which  permits  the  assump- 
tion that  their  belief  was  that,  after  three  thousand 
years,  the  second  spirit — for  they  imagined  there  were 
two— would  again  enter  into  its  mummy  and  walk 
forth  into  light  and  sunshine.  Certainly  the  greatest 
care  was  taken  of  the  bodies,  both  in  the  embalming 
process  and  in  the  secrecy  with  which  they  were 
entombed.  Modern  science  does  not  to-day  com- 
pletely understand  the  old  Egyptian  methods  of 
embalming,  that  is,  the  system  employed  anterior 
to  the  Persian  conquest.  Then  the  process,  which 
took  quite  three  months,  was  so  thorough  that  bodies 
can  now,  thousands  of  years  after,  be  exposed  to  the 
action  of  the  atmosphere  without  any  destructive 
results.  In  the  museum  at  Cairo  are  mummies, 
under  a glass  case,  that  are  said  to  be  four  thousand 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 


«3 

years  old.  The  glass  cover  is  lifted  daily  to  satisfy 
visitors,  and  the  eyes,  teeth,  and  general  physiognomy 
are  more  clearly  outlined  in  them  than  they  would 
be  in  a body  disentombed  to-morrow  after  being 
twenty  years  embalmed  in  Europe  or  America. 
After  Cambyses  there  was  a perceptible  lowering 
both  of  the  care  and  cost  necessary  to  properly  treat 
the  dead.  The  nation  was  under  a foreign  yoke, 
from  which  they  made  three  several  desperate  efforts 
to  escape,  but  without  success.  With  the  decline  of 
their  power  came  also  a loss  both  of  wealth  and  of 
that  religious  and  filial  spirit  which  made  their 
ancestors  so  careful  and  conscientious  in  performing 
the  last  rites  over  their  fathers.  So  that  mummies 
unearthed  belonging  to  this  later  era,  of  which  there 
are  many,  for  the  custom  was  faithfully  continued, 
are  neither  as  enduring  nor  so  valuable  as  the  older 
ones.  It  is  these  comparatively  modern  mummies 
that  are  now  sold  or  given  away  to  institutions  and 
individuals.  The  museum  which  through  Mariette’s 
suggestion  claims  possession  of  every  mummy  dis- 
covered in  the  country,  always  has  numbers  of  them 
for  sale  in  a fair  state  of  preservation.  Sometimes 
in  excavating  they  run  across  a cemetery  of  mummies, 
and  take  them  away  as  they  are  needed,  just  as  one 
takes  wood  from  the  shed  for  the  winter’s  consump- 
tion. 

Even  the  Christians  continued  the  practice  of 


84 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


embalming  tbeir  dead  long  after  their  religion  had 
become  the  dominant  one.  For  though  they  changed 
their  creed,  the  Egyptians  retained  many  of  the 
ancient  customs  of  the  Pharaonic  era.  In  the  third 
century  the  Serapeum  at  Alexandria  was  destroyed 
by  a most  Christian  mob.  The  Serapeum  was 
the  last  temple  devoted  to  the  rites  of  Osiris  in 
Egypt.  All  the  others  had  been  purified  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  new  religion  from  Palestine,  while  many 
of  them  had  been  suffered  to  fall  into  such  ruins  as 
Egypt’s  peerless  climate  would  permit. 

It  was  a stately  and  imposing  structure,  built  in 
the  most  elevated  part  of  the  city  of  Alexandria, 
with  grand  colonnades  of  immense  porph}rry  pillars, 
and  cloistered  courts  wherein  the  priests  of  the  old 
time  were  wont  to  meditate.  It  was,  of  course,  com- 
paratively modern  in  date,  and  was  constructed  after 
Alexander’s  time ; and  in  the  fourth  century  after 
Christ,  when  the  mob  destroyed  it  by  fire,  the 
reigning  Emperor  Theodosius  issued  a decree  pro- 
hibiting the  exercise  of  the  pagan  religion  of  the 
Pharaohs  in  Egypt,  and  this  seems  to  have  acted 
also,  although  not  strictly  enjoined,  in  a deterrent 
manner  on  the  process  of  embalming.  For  the  two 
were  apparently  so  strongly  wedded  together  in  all 
the  past  centuries  that  the  eclipse  of  the  one  took 
with  it  the  other.  Nevertheless  up  to  that  time  the 
Christians  appear  to  have  very  generally,  if  not 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 


85 


universally,  embalmed  their  dead.  Especially  is  this 
true  in  Upper  Egypt,  far  above  Cairo,  where  was 
apparently  a dense  population.  So  that  there  is  a 
perfect  harvest  of  Christian  mummies  awaiting  an 
opportunity  to  adorn  a doctor’s  office  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, or  else  to  become  the  companions  of  some 
comparatively  modern  Aztec  in  the  city  of  Mexico. 

Over  the  world  they  go,  scattered  here  and  there, 
until,  if  they  ever  do  rehabilitate  their  bodies,  they 
will  find  it  hard  to  get  back  to  old  Egypt,  the  land 
of  their  birth,  without  help.  Just  imagine  some 
one  who  lived  in  these  old  bones  and  flesh  hunting 
all  over  creation  to  find  them  in  a glass  case  at  the 
Bohemian  Club  at  San  Francisco!  He  would  see 
that  his  face  was  a little  blacker  than  when  he  knew 
it  last.  He  would  be  surprised  to  notice  his  shrunk 
shanks,  and  would  swear  that  the  embalmers  must 
have  taken  some  of  the  solid  parts  away  from  his 
abdomen,  once  portly  with  good  living  and  drink- 
ing. It  could  never  have  become  so  small  if  they 
had  not  done  so ! And  if  he  finally  entered  into 
his  body,  how  should  he  discover  his  way  to  Alexan- 
dria ? He  would  go  out  of  the  club  into  the  street, 
to  find  a murky  atmosphere  such  as  he  never  knew 
in  sunny  Egypt,  and  a dense  fog  in  the  misty 
evening  would  chill  his  thin  frame,  weakened  by 
two  thousand  years  of  abstinence.  The  few  stars 
that  he  might  gaze  upon  above  would  not  be  familiar 


86 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


to  him.  He  could  not  remember  that  he  had  ever 
seen  them  before,  nor  could  he  recall  anything  like 
them  in  the  charts  of  the  heavens  that  he  had  often 
pored  over,  for  he  was  a student  at  the  Alexandrian 
library.  Moreover,  the  firmament  had  not  that  clear 
sapphire  blue,  nor  were  the  stars  as  large  and 
brilliant  as  when  he  lived  and  walked  upon  the 
earth.  The  people  dressed  differently.  Where  were 
the  loose-fitting,  many-coloured  robes  that  made  the 
streets  of  Alexandria  so  attractive  ? Where  were 
the  scarlet  silks  of  the  women,  the  purple  and  white 
of  the  men  ? Instead,  he  beheld  close-fitting,  heavy, 
sombre  garments,  that  made  him  think  these  persons 
must  be  in  perpetual  mourning.  He  saw  a certain 
building,  and  knew  that  it  was  dedicated  to  the 
religion  of  Christ,  to  which  he  had  been  converted 
before  he  died,  by  the  cross  which  was  on  the  top 
of  the  high  steeple.  He  entered,  but  in  the  dim 
light  coming  through  the  stained  windows  was 
nothing  that  he  recalled.  The  gorgeous  cushions, 
the  carpeted  floor,  the  heavy  oaken  pews,  the  tower- 
ing organ  with  its  many  pipes,  the  vaulted  and 
arched  roof  that  seemed  to  be  so  far  above,  almost 
appalled  him.  In  his  land  and  time  all  sacred 
edifices  were  open  to  the  sunshine,  the  moonlight, 
and  the  rays  of  the  stars.  Every  one  knelt  on  the 
floors  of  packed  sand,  and  completed  their  orisons 
without  these  costly  and  gorgeous  surroundings. 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 


87 


And  why  did  they  close  the  building  at  the  top  ? 
Did  such  a thing  as  rain  come  there  ? And,  if  it 
did,  though  he  could  hardly  comprehend  it,  surely 
there  was  not  so  much  as  to  shut  out  the  pleasant, 
cheerful  sunlight ! 

Again,  in  the  streets  he  saw  strange  vehicles 
moving  rapidly  along,  carrying  multitudes  of  people. 
There  were  neither  camels  nor  horses  nor  men 
attached,  yet  they  moved  so  fast  that  he  could  not 
keep  pace  with  them.  What  influence  was  it  that 
performed  this  marvellous  miracle  ? He  knew  that 
there  was  but  one  true  God,  yet  he  felt  that  he  was 
not  upon  the  earth.  Could  it  be,  indeed,  that  some 
of  the  tales  told  of  the  old  gods  of  pagan  times 
were  true,  and  that  they  yet  dwelt  among  us  ? 

He  went  out  into  the  country,  and  saw  flying  over 
the  land,  at  a speed  equal  to  that  of  the  sacred  ibis, 
strange  things,  long  and  broad  and  heavy,  breath- 
ing forth  flame  and  smoke,  and  making  noises  such 
as  he  never  dreamt  of  before.  In  quiet,  toiling 
Egypt  they  had  none  of  that.  He  went  to  the 
water.  There  upon  its  surface  were  immense  vessels, 
without  sails,  but  with  huge  black  pipes.  They  were 
so  large  that  they  could  not  enter  the  Nile  at 
Alexandria,  yet,  though  there  was  no  wind,  they 
moved  over  the  water  so  fast  that  they  were  soon 
out  of  sight.  He  marvelled  at  all  these  wonders 
and  did  not  know  what  to  think.  Still,  though  these 


88 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


people  were  apparently  rich,  powerful,  and  pros- 
perous, he  wanted  to  go  back  to  Memphis,  Pelusium, 
and  Alexandria,  for  they  were  so  different  from 
his  own  in  their  ways.  Though  he  appeared  very 
odd  indeed,  with  his  thin  attenuated  frame,  large 
ghastly  black  eyes,  and  discoloured  body,  which  was 
neither  brown  nor  black  nor  white,  for  the  blood 
was  now  coursing  through  his  veins,  and  he  looked 
different  from  what  he  did  at  first,  yet  this  new  race 
in  this  new  land  never  noticed  him.  They  were  so 
intent  on  their  own  affairs,  on  money -getting,  that 
they  had  no  time  to  stop  and  accost  him.  No  one 
looked  at  him  ; none  observed  the  singularity  of  his 
attire.  In  fact,  he  was  entirely  unnoticed,  and  felt 
himself  indeed  “ a stranger  in  a strange  land.”  Far 
different  was  it  in  the  country  of  his  people,  where 
they  reposed  during  the  early  part  of  the  afternoon  ; 
where  they  had  hours  and  hours  of  pleasant  religious 
and  philosophical  disputations  in  the  cafes  during  the 
cool  hours  of  the  evening.  For  there  no  one  hurried 
and  few  laboured,  while  the  sun  always  shone  and 
the  stars  were  ever  bright.  For  that  was  the  land 
where  the  lotus  flower,  with  its  wide-spreading  leaves, 
and  the  soft  and  tender  papyri  lay  shimmering  on 
the  water’s  edge,  while  the  tall  palm,  with  its  lofty 
branches,  cast  a shadow  over  all.  Ah  yes  ! he  would 
go  back  to  old  Egypt,  sleeping  in  the  deathless  sun- 
light, rather  than  stay  in  the  too  active  new  world. 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD.  89 

And  that  is  the  way  some  of  us  who  live  in  the 
new  world  feel  to-day.  There  is  too  much  haste 
and  work  ; too  much  anxiety  to  get  rich,  and  too 
little  time  to  stop  and  think.  We  live  too  fast, 
and  die  too  soon.  We  have  but  few  holidays,  and 
do  not  intermit  money-making  even  then.  M e may 
be  the  greatest  nation  in  the  woi'ld,  but  we  get 
little  real  pleasure  out  of  life.  We  certainly  are 
not  examples  to  hold  up  for  the  emulation  of  other 
lands. 

But  I know  that  most  Americans  who  come  over 
here  come  not  to  see,  so  much  as  to  rest.  And 
they  are  right.  Mendelssohn's  dolce  far  niente  ot 
Naples  cannot  be  compared  with  Cairo,  for  if  you 
have  there  the  balmy  southern  air  and  the  memories 
of  the  present  era,  here  you  have  the  indistinctness 
of  the  far-distant  past,  so  distant  that  history  fails  to 
tell  us  of  it,  and  we  have  to  go  groping  with  the 
Pyramids  and  the  obelisks  as  our  guide.  For  what 
has  become  of  the  remains  of  these  dead  men,  who 
were  embalmed  and  interred  by  thousands  and 
millions  in  the  past  centuries?  It  is  a curious  fact 
that  nearly  all  bodies  now  discovered  belong  either 
to  the  Ptolemaic  or  Christian  era.  Fifty  centuries 
had  then  passed  over  Egypt,  and  men  lived  and 
died.  The  country  must  have  been  always  well 
peopled,  for  the  Nile  gave  it  both  land  and  water. 

Thebes  had  its  hundred  gates,  from  each  of  which 


9o 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


issued  a thousand  armed  men.  And  there  were 
Memphis,  and  Zoan,  and  Tanis,  and  On.  In  early 
days  all  Egypt’s  troubles  were  foreign.  But  seldom 
before  the  Hyksos  came  did  the  invader  tread 
Egyptian  soil.  So  they  were  born  and  lived  and 
married,  and  died  in  peace  and  safety.  They  did 
not  cremate  nor  bury,  but  always  embalmed.  The 
first  embahners  seemed  to  have  known  their  trade 
as  well  as  the  last.  There  is,  in  the  Gfizerah  Museum 
at  Cairo,  a mummy  that  the  wise  men  of  the  land 
say  is  five  thousand  six  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
that  is  to  say,  over  seven  thousand  years  old.  He 
is  of  the  second  dynasty,  and  the  body  of  the  “ oldest 
inhabitant  ” on  earth  is  fairly  well  preserved.  Yet 
he  was  not  a Pharaoh,  nor  even  a royal  personage, 
nor  connected  in  any  manner  with  the  royal  family. 
He  was  only  a minor  priest,  performing  some  very 
subordinate  services  in  one  of  the  old  fanes  now  long 
since  gone. 

When  he  walked  the  earth  neither  the  Pyramids, 
nor  the  Sphinx,  nor  Edfou,  nor  Thebes  was  in 
existence.  The  delta  that  now  constitutes  the  best 
of  Lower  Egypt  was  then  only  a morass.  Alexandria 
must  have  been  miles  out  at  sea,  and  the  Nile  must 
have  been  unnavigable  at  its  numerous  mouths,  for 
there  was  no  direct  deep  channel.  It  spread  like  a 
fan  over  the  dead  arid  soil,  and  the  water  remained 
there  until  it  evaporated  and  was  carried  over  the 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 


91 


sea  by  the  winds,  while  the  rains  from  the  moun- 
tains of  Central  Abyssinia  constantly  renewed  the 
supply.  Even  forty  centuries  later  it  had  seven 
mouths,  while  to-day  it  has  but  two.  Such,  in  the 
fulness  of  time,  is  the  result  of  the  annual  deposit  of 
soil  from  its  swollen  waters  oil  the  low  lands  border- 
ing the  Mediterranean.  The  Egyptians  of  his  time 
and  long  afterwards  could  not  have  known  of  such 
countries  as  Greece,  nor  even  of  the  isles  of  the 
Archipelago,  for  neither  could  the  Egyptians  have 
sailed  down  the  Nile  and  out  to  sea,  nor  could  the 
Greeks,  if  any  there  were,  have  sailed  up  to  the  Egyp- 
tian cities.  For  there  was  no  channel  in  the  river. 
The  very  Nile  itself  is  thought  at  one  time  to  have  run 
westerly,  and  emptied  itself  into  the  Red  Sea,  until  its 
course  was  changed  to  the  present  one  by  human 
hands.  Prior  to  that  Egypt  was  simply  a desert, 
without  a single  oasis,  without  a palm,  a leaf,  a lotus 
flower,  or  a papyrus. 

Yet  the  papyri  found  within  the  coflBn  of  our 
seven-thousand-year-old  inhabitant  tell  of  the  king 
and  dynasty  under  which  he  was  born,  lived,  and 
died.  It  also  indicates  certain  religious  fashions 
and  ways  then  in  vogue,  that  must  have  been  the 
product  of  reflection,  experience,  and  time.  So  well 
were  religious  customs  and  principles  established 
even  at  the  date  of  the  Pyramids,  that  subsequent 
centuries  made  but  little  change.  Other  gods  were 


92 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


added  to  the  Pantheon,  but  the  triad  Osiris,  Isis,  and 
Horus,  with  Set  in  the  background,  were  as  well 
known,  and  their  respective  functions  as  clearly 
defined,  as  in  the  time  of  Rameses,  thirty  odd 
centuries  later.  Where  there  are  so  many  to  count, 
one  or  two  centuries  more  or  less  will  make  but 
little  difference.  So,  then,  we  may  ask,  how  many 
ages  came  and  went  before  our  oldest  inhabitant  ? 
How  long  did  it  take  them  to  perfect  that  civilization 
and  religion  that  endured,  with  little  alteration,  down 
to  the  Christian  epoch,  more  than  five  thousand  years 
afterwards  ? How  long  to  evolve  Osiris,  Isis,  and 
Horus,  with  their  complete  and  perfect  individualities, 
from  chaos  ? How  many  cycles  were  these  ancients 
in  getting  together  the  dogmas  of  their  complicated 
religion,  which  Herodotus  confesses  he  did  not  and 
could  not  understand  ? The  very  “ Book  of  the  Dead,” 
describing  in  the  minutest  detail  the  ceremonies  and 
obligations  incumbent  on  all  whose  duty  it  was  to 
properly  embalm  and  inter  those  who  died,  is  coeval 
with  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  that  stood  at  Heliopolis 
forty  centuries  ago. 

This  book  is  a curious  affair.  It  tells  them  the 
exact  method  and  manner  of  embalming ; what 
materials  are  to  be  used,  and  when ; how  long  the 
body  was  to  soak  after  the  first  treatment ; what 
to  do  on  the  second,  and  also  the  third  and  last  ; 
even  prescribing  the  manner  in  which  the  linen 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 


93 


cloth  should  be  wrapped  round  the  mummy.  The 
whole  process,  from  the  time  of  death  until  the  body 
was  finally  ready  for  burial,  took  about  seventy- 
five  days.  Then  it  was  placed  in  the  centre  of  a 
boat  of  a peculiar  build,  under  a canopy  supported  on 
the  four  open  sides  by  poles,  that  were  surmounted 
with  scarabaei,  the  emblems  of  Death  and  Life. 
Except  at  Memphis,  all  the  cemeteries  were  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river  from  the  city.  It  was  part  of 
the  religious  duty  that  the  dead  should  be  taken  over 
the  sacred  Nile.  I wonder  if  the  later  Roman  belief 
of  the  Styx  came  from  the  Egyptian  practice  ? The 
boat  was  poled  over  by  two  oarsmen,  one  in  front, 
one  in  rear.  Put  a single  old  gray-headed  man  in 
front,  in  long  flowing  robes,  make  the  boat  larger, 
and  one  has  in  Toby  Rosenthal’s  picture,  where 

“The  dead,  steered  by  the  dumb, 

Went  upward  with  the  flood,” 

something  of  the  old  Osiris  boats,  that  silently  floated 
with  the  sacred  stream,  bearing  the  dead  to  their  still 
abode. 

The  tombs  embraced  first  one  chamber,  then  at 
right  angles,  away  from  the  light  of  day,  a second. 
The  first  chamber  was  very  often  at  the  end  of  a 
passage  leading  from  the  entrance  into  the  rock. 
But  there  was  not  always  a passage,  for  it  was 
expensive  to  cut.  In  the  second  chamber  was  sunk 


94 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


a winze  or  shaft.  At  the  bottom  was  a little  tunnel, 
and  at  its  end  a vault  was  excavated,  in  which  was 
placed  a coffin  or  sarcophagus. 

The  walls  and  roof  were  covered  with  quotations 
from  the  “ Book  of  the  Dead,”  and  with  incidents  of 
the  man’s  career.  These  were  mostly  done  under 
his  own  supervision  while  living.  They  were 
usually  well  executed,  as  people  made  it  a special 
profession,  much  as  we  have  fresco  and  wall  painters 
to-day.  Far  down  from  the  light  of  the  sun  the 
colours  of  the  pigments  retained  their  original  fresh- 
ness, and  exist  in  many  and  many  an  underground 
tomb  at  present.  After  placing  the  mummy  in  the 
sepulchral  chamber,  the  entrance  was  closed,  and 
the  little  passage  at  the  bottom,  as  well  as  the  shaft 
itself,  completely  filled  with  loose  sand,  dirt,  and 
stones.  Then  the  top  was  levelled  with  the  floor 
of  the  second  chamber  whence  it  started,  the  floor 
itself  covered  with  a rock-like  cement,  and,  as  a result, 
the  secret  was  inviolate.  Yet  only  with  the  power- 
ful and  the  great  were  all  these  precautions  taken. 

And  now  comes  the  uses  of  this  second  chamber.  I 
ought  not  to  try  to  describe  it,  because  I am  not 
sure  that  I understand  it ; but  I have  never  met  nor 
read  of  any  one  who  was  very  much  wiser.  All  the 
savants  get  mixed,  and  contradict  each  other  in  a 
most  shameful  manner.  The  one  who  writes  or 
lectures  last  tries  to  prove  his  knowledge  by  show- 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 


95 


ing  the  ignorance  of  every  one  else.  But  as  I have 
gathered,  it  is  something  as  follows : — The  ancient 
Egyptians  believed  that  two  souls  still  existed  after 
the  body  became  cold  and  inert.  One  of  these  souls, 
immediately  on  Death’s  coming  to  earth  and  striking 
its  human  residence  with  his  wand,  left  the  regions 
of  the  sun  and  went  down  below  to  an  unknown 
place,  presided  over  by  Osiris,  who  was  assisted  by 
his  wife  Isis.  Osiris  was  their  principal  deity,  yet 
his  only  function  seemed  to  be  that  of  judging  this 
half  of  one’s  spiritual  anatomy  after  death. 

They  had  no  God  to  look  after  them  while  they 
walked  the  earth.  They  thought  they  could  do  that 
themselves.  Just  what  happened  if  the  worthy 
Osiris  considered  the  case  altogether  too  bad  is  hard 
to  say.  No  one  appears  to  fully  know.  Annihila- 
tion or  some  little  occurrence  of  that  kind  took 
place.  But  if  the  scales  inclined  to  the  lucky  side, 
for  the  good  and  bad  are  weighed,  as  they  are 
supposed  to  be  in  the  scales  of  Justice  nowadays, 
then  the  fortunate  spirit  went  to  the  realms  of  ever- 
lasting bliss.  They  must  be  contented  there,  for 
Egyptian  mythology  nowhere  relates  that  any 
of  them  came  back.  There  could  not  have  been  any 
spiritualists  in  those  unenlightened  years.  So  that 
was  the  last  of  the  ethereal  spirit.  Meanwhile  the 
other  spiritual  essence  remained  in  the  upper  funeral 
apartment,  underneath  which  lay,  far  down  in  the 


96 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


rocky  depths,  the  body  that  had  been  his  earthly 
domicile.  This  number  two  was  of  grosser  stuff 
than  number  one.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  getting 
hungry  and  thirsty,  and  the  friends  and  relatives  of 
the  dead  man  regularly  brought  to  his  chamber  food 
and  drink,  which  were  left  for  his  use. 

I have  very  often  seen  in  California,  where  there 
are  numbers  of  Chinese,  well-cooked  food  left  at  the 
grave-side  of  the  newly  interred  for  a day  or  two. 
Then  it  was  taken  away  and  carefully  eaten  by  the 
living.  This  was  done  not  only  in  the  case  of  those 
dead  only  a week  or  two,  but  of  those  who  died 
two  or  three  years  before.  Even  the  comparatively 
enlightened  and  liberal  doctrines  of  Confucius  per- 
mitted this  extraneous  growth  on  his  pure  stock. 

Might  it  not  have  been  even  older  than  his 
books  ? And  might  he  not  have  found  it  impossible 
to  prevent  its  existence  and  dangerous  to  crush  it  ? 
When  one  reads  a good  deal  of  Egyptian  history, 
religious  ideas,  and  customs,  and  when  one  re- 
members that  they  are  incomparably  older  than  any 
others  whatever,  one  gets  the  belief  that  many,  nay, 
most  of  these  later  customs  in  all  countries  came 
originally  from  the  land  of  the  lotus  and  crocodile. 
The  triad  of  the  Father,  Sou,  and  Holy  Ghost  seems 
to  be  akin  to  the  Egyptian  triad  of  Osiris,  Isis,  and 
llorus.  The  rite  of  circumcision  was  practised  by 
the  Egyptians  when  Abraham  paid  them  a visit,  and 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 


97 


for  long  centuries  before.  The  Greek  and  Latin  gods 
are  but  replicas  of  the  Egyptian  deities  under  other 
names.  And  the  belief  in  immortality  and  in  punish- 
ment and  reward  after  death  seems  to  have  existed 
from  the  very  earliest  epoch,  but,  of  course,  more  in- 
distinctly and  in  a grosser  form  than  as  later  defined. 

In  the  mean  time,  I left  the  second  spirit  in  his 
last  home,  eating  and  drinking,  though,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  Chinese,  the  food  was  taken  away  before 
it  became  unfit  to  be  eaten  by  material  mouths. 
This  spirit,  it  would  appear,  lived  in  this  second  room, 
occasionally  going  forth  and  wandering  about  the 
places  where  he  lived  and  walked  during  life,  but 
always  returning  at  sundown.  Just  how  long  it 
survived  is  hard  to  say.  During  the  lifetime  of  the 
mummy’s  sons,  the  food  was  taken  to  the  tomb  at 
stated  intervals  ; but  after  the  death  of  his  immediate 
descendants  he  was  gradually  forgotten  and  left 
alone,  as  almost  every  one  else  is  in  this  world. 

The  object  most  frequently  found  in  the  tombs 
was  the  figure  of  a scarabceus,  the  emblem,  as  I have 
said,  of  Death  and  Life,  or  Immortality  of  the  Spirit, 
cut  either  in  gold  or  stone.  There  are  to-day,  in  the 
hot  burning  deserts  of  Upper  Egypt,  certain  black 
crawling  things,  about  an  inch  in  length,  that  look 
like  beetles.  They  are,  in  fact,  a class  of  that  very 
disagreeable  species  of  insect,  but  are  only  found  in 
the  desert. 


H 


98 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


The  beetles  of  Lower  Egypt,  those  that  infest 
Alexandria,  Cairo,  and  other  towns  in  and  near  the 
Delta,  are  of  a different  order.  The  desert  beetle  is 
the  sacred  scarabseus  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and 
for  this  cause.  The  scarabseus  is  of  but  one  sex.  It 
deposits  its  eggs  in  the  dried  droppings  of  camels, 
and  in  time  the  sun  develops  and  enlarges  them 
until  the  scarabaei  come  forth.  These,  without  com- 
mingling with  another  sex,  have  the  power  to  deposit 
eggs  in  the  same  way,  which  in  due  season  bring 
forth  life.  This  virtue  of  self-reproduction,  which 
exists  with  these  scarabaei  to-day  as  it  did  then,  was 
so  much  like  infinity,  that  the  Pharaohs  and  priests 
took  it  as  the  type  of  immortality,  in  life  and  in 
death.  Wherever  one  goes  into  Egypt  one  sees  the 
scarabaei  sculptured,  in  all  sorts  of  places  and  with 
all  sorts  of  inscriptions.  Especially  was  the  figure 
of  the  scarabaeus  faithfully  reproduced  in  stone, 
particularly  cornelian,  and,  without  any  hieroglyphs, 
employed  as  an  amulet.  Another  instance  of  the 
fact  that  everything  under  the  sun  came  at  first 
from  this  land  of  the  sun. 

With  princes  and  peasants,  with  priests  and 
soldiers,  the  scarabseus  is  an  emblem  of  hope.  In 
the  red  granite  sarcophagus  of  the  Pharaoh,  with  its 
delicate,  yet  clearly  outlined  glyptic  work ; in  the 
scarcely  less  costly  coffin  of  the  priest,  with  his 
shaven  skull  and  ascetic  features ; in  the  modest 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  BEAD. 


99 


coffin  of  the  soldier  who  looks  bold  in  death,  as  he 
was  valiant  in  life ; and  among  the  plain  mummy- 
cloths,  without  coffin  or  shroud,  of  the  poor  peasant, 
the  scarahaeus  in  its  stone  image  was  held  tightly 
on  the  breast  between  the  two  hands,  as  the 
Christian  went  to  his  grave  grasping  the  crucifix. 
So  dear  to  all  of  us,  Egyptian  or  Christian,  Parsee  or 
Moslem,  is  this  impalpable  phantom  of  immortality 
which  we  all  believe,  and  yet  which  we  all  doubt. 

As  they  could  not  well  be  destroyed,  even  if  any- 
thing happened  to  the  mummy,  they  are  very 
numerous.  Thus  the  museum  at  Cairo  has  hundreds 
of  them,  dating  from  the  earliest  historical  epoch. 
Each  mummy,  even  a Pharaoh,  had  only  one.  The 
mummies  have  disappeared.  That  is  one  of  the 
oddest  things  about  Egyptian  history.  The  propor- 
tion of  those  found  naturally  bears  but  a very  small 
ratio  to  the  past  dead,  and  those  discovered  in  later 
years  are  nearly  all  after  the  conquest  of  Persia  by 
Cambyses.  As  every  one  who  had  the  means  was 
mummified,  and  as  those  people  when  young  began 
to  get  ready  for  death,  the  greater  part  of  them 
must  have  been  embalmed.  Yet  what  has  become 
of  all  these  bodies  ? They  should  be  as  numerous 
as  the  palm  leaves.  The  Egyptians  themselves 
could  not,  and  would  not  have  destroyed  them. 
True,  they  very  often,  especially  in  the  decadence  of 
the  country  in  later  centuries,  removed  mummies 


IOO 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


from  their  elegant  sarcophagi  or  coffins,  and  had 
their  own  mummies  after  death  placed  therein. 
This  was  even  done  by  some  of  the  Pharaohs.  In 
certain  cases  the  cartouche  of  the  older  monarch  and 
his  writings  were  completely  removed  with  his 
body,  and  the  cartouche  and  inscriptions  of  his 
successor  in  the  tomb  put  in  their  place. 

However,  this  was  not  always  done,  and  there  lies 
in  the  Gizerah  Museum  to-day  a coffin  holding  the 
mummy  of  a priest-king  of  the  twenty-first  dynasty, 
while  writings  on  the  inside  tell  us  that  it 
at  first  held  the  mummy  of  a Pharaoh  who  had 
died  about  eight  hundred  years  before.  The  body 
of  the  first  king  has  also  been  found,  only  in  a poorer 
coffin,  and  the  two  lie  side  by  side,  the  robber  in  his 
four-thousand-year-old  coffin  and  his  victim  in  a 
cheap  shabby  one. 

I wonder,  if  they  could  talk,  what  kind  of  an 
animated  conversation  they  would  hold  in  the 
museum  about  this  little  occurrence  ? There  would 
be  plenty  of  witnesses  at  hand,  for  in  this  wonderful 
collection  there  stand  against  the  wall  coffins  con- 
taining the  dead  bodies  of  men  who  were  contem- 
porary with  both  of  them,  and  might  have  seen  the 
mummy  of  the  first  Pharaoh  as  it  was  slowly  rowed 
under  its  dead-black  canopy  over  the  quiet  waters  of 
the  Nile,  and  others  who  might  have  gazed  with 
curiosity  as  this  same  body  was  removed  from  its 


COFFIN  OF  amenhotep  i.  To  face  page  100. 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  DEAD. 


IOI 


sarcophagus  eight  hundred  years  later,  and  the  re- 
mains of  the  vandal  priest  Pharaoh  taken  to  the  tomb. 

The  Pharaoh-priest  has  had  his  imitators,  for 
Charlemagne’s  body  lies  at  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  the 
marble  sarcophagus  which  once  held  all  that  was 
left  at  his  death  of  Augustus.  However,  I do  not 
know  that  he  removed  the  body  of  the  Roman. 
That  had  been  done  many  years  before  in  some  of 
the  numerous  wars  that  followed  the  taking  of  Rome 
by  Attila.  Others  beside  this  particular  Pharaoh 
have  done  the  same.  In  later  times  the  monarchs 
had  not  time  or  inclination  to  get  ready  their  tomb, 
so  very  often  they  took  that  of  a preceding  king. 

They  had  another  custom  which  shows  both  the 
immense  antiquity  of  Egypt,  and  how  the  old 
Egyptians  planned  for  the  future.  Every  five 
hundred  years  the  tombs  of  the  Pharaohs  and  high 
priests  were  opened,  and  the  mummies  unrolled  and 
examined.  Such  changes  as  five  centuries  of  cool 
and  quiet  repose  in  the  dark  secret  recesses  of  the 
burial-chambers  had  made  were  at  once  removed 
under  the  skilful  hand  of  the  embalmer.  New 
mummy-cloths  were  wrapt  around  the  form,  but  the 
old  one  was  not  taken  from  the  sarcophagus.  The 
embalmer  and  person  authorized  to  open  the  tomb 
wrote,  either  on  the  mummy  coverings  or  on  papyrus, 
a statement  of  what  they  had  done,  in  whose  reign, 
and  what  year,  and  also  their  own  names.  For  the 


102 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


embalmer  was  a person  of  consequence,  and  his  office 
was  hereditary.  Then  everything  was  closed  again, 
and  the  remains  left  undisturbed  for  another  cycle 
of  five  centuries.  Mummies  have  been  found  with 
several  such  inscriptions,  showing  that  their  tombs 
had  been  regularly  opened  and  this  task  executed. 
Of  course,  as  I have  said,  this  was  done  only  with 
the  Pharaohs,  the  higher  nobility,  and  clergy.  A 
record  of  their  burial-places  was  carefully  kept, 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
certain  persons  appointed,  to  whose  family  this  duty 
or  privilege  belonged.  With  regard  to  the  untold 
numbers  of  all  the  centuries,  but  few,  very  few 
indeed,  can  now  be  found.  The  explanation  that  is 
generally  accepted  to  account  for  their  disappearance 
is  this.  When  Nebuchadnezzar,  about  eight  hundred 
years  before  Christ,  invaded  Egypt,  he  marched  up 
to  Wady  Haifa,  the  location  of  the  First  Cataract, 
driving  before  him  into  Ethiopia  the  Egyptian  mon- 
arch, his  army,  and  a good  part  of  his  people. 
Nebuchadnezzar  was  not  content  with  defeating  and 
killing  the  living ; lie  wreaked  his  anger  and  hate 
also  on  the  dead.  As  he  went  up  the  valley  of  the 
Nile,  and  also  on  his  return,  he  tore  open  everywhere 
the  cemeteries  and  tombs,  dragged  forth  the  mummies, 
piled  them  together,  and  set  fire  to  them.  He  would 
have  destroyed  the  temples  if  he  could,  and  indeed 
did  do  great  injury  to  some  of  them. 


( >°3  ) 


CHAPTER  IX. 

AX  ARAB  MARRIAGE. 

Naturally,  after  studying  such  topics  as  those 
treated  of  in  the  last  two  chapters,  I was  ready  for 
a little  relaxation.  So  when  Ibrahim  Effendi,  the 
commandant  of  the  only  horse  battery  of  artillery 
in  Egypt,  came  to  me  and  asked  whether  I should 
like  to  attend  an  Arab  marriage,  I g'ladly  assented. 
He  called  for  me  about  five  o’clock,  and  we  drove 
down  through  one  of  the  quarters  of  Old  Cairo, 
where  the  houses  look  so  old  that  it  requires  a great 
effort  of  the  imagination  to  credit  their  having  ever 
been  new.  When,  after  innumerable  twistings  and 
turnings,  we  finally  reached  the  wedding  mansion, 
we  found  its  narrow  street  illuminated  with  coloured 
lamps,  while  bright  flags  hung  in  festoons  from 
house  to  house.  Our  approach  was  the  signal  for 
the  band  of  music  to  strike  up.  For,  as  both  the 
bride  and  bridegroom  were  connected  with  the 
higher  native  officials  of  the  Egyptian  military 


104 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


service,  the  band  of  one  of  the  native  regiments  had 
been  placed  at  their  disposal. 

The  music  which  greeted  us  was  supposed  to  be 
a marriage  melody,  and  was  played  on  brass  instru- 
ments of  European  manufacture.  To  me,  however, 
it  sounded  more  like  some  melancholy  funeral  dirge 
or  march.  For  all  Arab  music  is  essentially  sad  and 
but  little  varied  : I believe  it  is  based  on  the  chants 
which  accompany  the  reading  of  the  Koran  in  the 
mosques,  and,  like  other  religious  music,  is  not  con- 
ducive to  gaiety. 

We  were  ushered  through  an  inner  court  which 
was  thronged  with  gaily  dressed  guests  and  draped 
with  dozens  of  little  red  flags  flecked  with  the  cres- 
cent and  the  star,  to  a large  chamber  in  the  rear  of 
the  court,  on  the  same  floor.  Here  were  assembled 
the  more  specially  distinguished  male  guests,  in- 
cluding ten  or  twelve  majors  and  colonels  in  the 
Egyptian  army.  They  were  dressed  in  Egyptian 
civilian  costume  only.  A long  black  coat,  close- 
fitting  at  the  neck,  with  white  waistcoat  to  corre- 
spond, was  substituted  for  ordinary  evening  dress. 
However,  all  the  others,  both  in  the  room  and  the 
court,  wore  the  long  flowing  robes  of  various  hues 
which  one  sees  nowhere  in  the  world  save  in  Cairo. 

I was  the  only  foreigner  present,  and  as  soon  as 
they  knew  that  I was  an  American  they  treated  me 
with  the  greatest  cordiality  I do  not  know  why  it 


AN  ARAB  MARRIAGE. 


io5 

is,  but  to  be  an  American  seems  the  best  recom- 
mendation one  can  possibly  have  in  the  Far  East. 
They  all  know  of  our  country,  and  entertain,  I fear, 
exaggerated  notions  of  her  wealth,  power,  and  libe- 
rality. 

They  plied  me  with  questions,  and  were  very 
much  surprised  when  I told  them  that  there  were 
very  few  Moslems,  perhaps  no  more  than  a thousand, 
in  the  wrhole  United  States.  While  they  have  no 
definite  idea  of  our  resources  and  numbers,  for 
general  and  historical  reading  is,  to  say  the  least  of 

it,  very  desultory  with  the  modern  Egyptian,  yet  the 
name  of  America  seems  to  inspire  them  with  respect 
and  esteem,  more  than  that  of  any  European  nation, 
the  English  even  included,  though  they  are  at 
present  in  possession  of  the  country.  It  seems  a 
little  curious  that,  though  the  English  have  now 
controlled  Egypt  seven  years,  yet  most  of  these 
officers  spoke  French,  and  knew  but  very  little  of 
the  former  language.  They  were  rather  chary  of 
expressing  any  opinion  of  the  British  rule,  but  I 
could  easily  infer  from  this  reticence  that  the  idea 
of  Egypt  for  the  Egyptians  was  by  far  the  most 
popular.  And  it  must  have  been  this  sentiment 
that  made  Arabi  Pasha,  a sort  of  Wat  Tyler,  so 
formidable,  for  he  had  the  real  wishes  of  the  nation 
behind  him.  Only  one  of  the  company  was  a Turk, 
Ahmed  Bey,  and  he  was  the  most  intelligent  and 


io6 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


entertaining  of  all.  He  had  certainly  read  history 
to  good  advantage,  and  could  discuss  religion  and 
wars  with  knowledge  and  thoughtfulness.  He  was 
entirely  free  from  the  fanaticism  and  bigotry  which 
seem  to  be  cardinal  points  in  Mahomet’s  creation. 

After  a while  we  went  into  the  banquet-hall,  and 
sat  around  a circular  table  made  of  aloes  and  sandal- 
wood, ornamented  on  the  top  and  legs  with  mosaics. 
We  washed  our  hands  in  a basin  of  water  held  by 
a servant,  and  then  began  eating  without  knives  and 
forks,  or  anything  to  drink. 

There  were  a dozen  of  us  at  the  table.  First 
came  a turkey,  which,  in  its  large  plate,  was  placed 
in  the  centre.  Then  every  one  tore  off  a bit  with 
his  fingers  and  ate.  The  meat  was  well  cooked  and 
tender,  so  this  was  very  easy  to  do.  Each  one  was 
provided  with  a wooden  spoon  for  the  dressing,  and 
also  with  a large  napkin.  After  the  turkey  was 
taken  away,  came  a goose,  then  pigeons,  then 
chickens  and  several  other  kinds  of  meat,  all  very 
delicious  and  pleasant  eating.  Then  followed  three 
or  four  sorts  of  cakes  and  candied  fruits,  with 
pomegranates  and  dates,  all  brought  in  separately, 
and  eaten  one  after  another.  When  I thought  and 
hoped  we  had  come  to  the  end,  for  I was  dying  of 
thirst,  there  was  brought  in  a huge  dish  of  rice,  and 
thereafter  more  meats.  They  told  me  that  meat 
brought  in  after  the  dessert  indicated  the  end  of  the 


AN  ARAB  MARRIAGE. 


107 


repast,  for  which  I was  very  grateful.  It  is  true 
that  a servant  stood  near  the  table  to  give  water  to 
those  who  wished  it,  but  as  none  of  the  others  asked, 
I thought  I would  wait.  We  were  about  two  hours 
over  the  dinner,  and  in  that  time  the  dishes  were 
removed  and  others  placed  on  the  table  with  very 
few  minutes  wasted  in  the  intervals,  as  there  was 
only  one  large  dish  to  take  away  and  one  to  bring  on. 
So  there  must  have  been,  I think,  fifteen  to  eighteen 
courses.  As  we  filed  out  of  the  banqueting-chamber, 
a servant  stood  at  the  door  with  soap,  water,  and 
towel,  to  wash  our  hands.  Afterwards,  in  the 
reception-room,  all  kinds  of  wrines  and  liquors  were 
placed  on  the  table,  and  of  these  I noticed  every  one 
drank  plentifully,  though  contrary  to.  the  law  of  the 
Koran. 

At  ten  o’clock  the  bridegroom,  who  was  twenty- 
two,  sallied  forth,  accompanied  on  either  hand  by  his 
two  best  men,  all  three  wearing  white  kid  gloves. 
With  them  were  the  band  of  music,  a company  of 
soldiers  carrying  candles  in  crystal-glass  lanterns, 
and  a number  of  the  guests.  The  whole  procession 
made  its  way  on  foot  to  a neighbouring  house,  into 
which  we  marched  between  the  files  of  the  soldiers, 
as  the  band  played.  Then  we  sat  in  solemn  stillness, 
while  coffee  and  cigarettes  were  handed  around.  As 
there  were  no  women  present,,  there  was  none  of  the 
mirth  so  proper  and  natural  on  such  an  occasion ; 


io8 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


and  after  waiting  in  stately  stupidity  a due  season, 
we  marched  out  again.  This  programme  was  re- 
peated at  three  other  residences,  the  inmates  being 
intimate  friends  of  one  or  the  other  of  the  contract- 
ing families.  I was  told  that  this  is  the  universal 
custom  prescribed  for  the  bridegroom  on  the  wedding 
night.  For  two  or  three  days  before,  the  bride,  in 
a closed  carriage,  with  heavy  veil,  accompanied  by 
her  relatives  and  friends  mounted  on  camels  gay 
with  scarlet  robes  and  gold  coins  dangling  in  long 
ribands,  makes  the  circuit  of  her  quarter  of  the  city. 

These  ceremonies  on  the  part  of  both  bride  and 
groom  are  a good  deal  like  publishing  the  banns  in 
Christian  churches.  They  are  as  old  as  the  religion 
itself,  and  give  every  one  a chance  to  know  that 
so-and-so  is  going  to  be  married,  and  then,  if  there 
be  any  objection,  it  may  be  made  known  at  once. 
While  not  so  necessary  in  these  days  of  newspapers, 
for  the  Arabs  have  native  journals,  yet  the  rich  and 
ennobled  people  who  can  afford  the  very  considerable 
expense  entailed  never  fail  to  practise  the  good  old 
custom.  During  our  banquet,  reception,  marches, 
and  countermarches,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
no  ladies  were  with  us.  The  women,  including  the 
bride,  were  all  gathered  on  the  floor  above,  which 
had  latticed  framework.  They  could  look  down 
upon  us  through  the  interstices  of  this  framework. 
But  even  thus  the  villainous  veil  covered  what  might 


an  ARAB  marriage.  To  face  page  108. 


AN  ARAB  MARRIAGE. 


log 


have  been  caught  of  their  features,  and  let  imagina- 
tion have  full  sway.  In  this  case  the  imagination  of 
the  young  husband  had  ample  opportunity  to  revel 
in  pleasant  dreams,  for  he  had  never  seen  his  bride. 
They  were  cousins,  betrothed  in  early  youth,  and 
actually  married  by  proxy  two  months  before,  though 
the  couple  were  to  meet  for  the  first  time  this  evening. 
The  imaun,  or  priest,  had  joined  together  the  thumbs 
of  the  two  nearest  male  relatives,  and  mentioning 
the  names  of  the  absent  ones,  they  were  made  man  and 
wife.  This  occurs  only  when  circumstances  prevent 
the  bride  and  groom  from  meeting  at  the  stipulated 
time.  A young  Arabian  girl  present  told  me  the 
next  day  that  the  bride  was  about  sixteen,  and  as 
ugly  as  any  girl  to  be  found  in  Cairo.  The  strangest 
and  most  unwholesome  part  of  the  whole  affair  was 
the  fact  that  the  girl  and  boy  had  never  exchanged 
a word  with  each  other.  From  the  confines  of  the 
harem,  and  through  the  jealously  guarded  arabesques, 
she  might  have  seen  him  passing  by ; but  he  could 
not  have  known  even  the  natural  colour  of  her 
eyes,  unless  his  female  relatives  had  told  him. 
None  of  those  feelings  and  emotions  that  make  life 
happy  and  cheerful  can  exist  in  such  a desert  of 
love. 

No  lips  there  speaking  to  lips,  and  there  is  no 
interchange  of  glances,  no  commingling  of  thoughts 
and  sentiments  that  constitute  the  love  and  courtship 


no 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


of  Christian  religion,  and  make  marriage  the  rosiest 
part  of  existence.  Novels  are  unknown  here,  for 
novels  cannot  be  where  there  is  no  love,  nor  anger, 
nor  jealousy.  So  one  never  hears  of  a Romeo  and 
Juliet,  an  Abelard  and  He'lo'ise.  All  is  a garden, 
where  the  flowers  give  forth  no  sweet  fragrance, 
where  the  birds  never  sing.  The  lotus  leaf  and 
the  palm  leaf  are  wide,  branching,  and  broad ; but, 
like  everything  else  in  this  old  dead  land,  they  have 
not  the  sweetness  nor  the  warmth  of  the  tiniest  rose- 
bud that  ever  lived  and  died  within  the  compass  of 
a day’s  sunshine. 

The  poor  bride  is  treated  like  a prisoner  before 
marriage,  and  like  a slave  afterwards.  While  in 
her  father’s  home,  she  never  goes  out  except  in  the 
company  of  some  old  woman  and  a miserable  eunuch, 
who  remains  in  constant  attendance. 

Always  closely  veiled,  whether  on  foot  or  in 
carriage,  the  girl  seldom  breathes  freely  under  the 
weight  of  the  heavy  veil,  which  drops  from  just 
below  the  eyes  to  the  feet,  and  is  glad  to  get  back 
again  to  the  close  harem,  where,  at  least,  she  is 
at  ease. 

After  a while  she  is  married  by  her  father  to  some 
one  to  whom  she  has  never  addressed  a word,  who 
has  never  gazed  upon  her  face,  and  whose  very 
existence  was  possibly  unknown  to  her  one  week 
before  the  marriage.  It  does  not  matter  if  he  is 


AN  ARAB  MARRIAGE. 


1 1 1 


old  or  young,  rich  or  poor,  handsome  or  ugly, 
married  or  not.  For  the  Moslem  law  permits  a man 
to  have  four  wives — that  is,  he  can  have  only  four 
wives  at  one  time  ; but  as  a compensation,  in  its 
thoughtfulness  for  those  who  believe  in  the  divine 
precepts  of  the  Koran,  it  grants  the  man  also  the 
privilege  of  divorcing  his  wife  at  his  own  option 
and  sending  her  back  to  her  parents  without  assign- 
ing any  reason ! She  may  have  been  his  wife 
a week  or  ten  years.  She  may  have  children  living 
and  dead.  All  he  has  to  do  is  to  go  to  the  judge, 
tell  him  he  does  not  want  her  any  more,  have 
a document  drawn  up  to  that  effect,  and  send  her 
home  with  only  the  dowry  that  he  received  with 
her  at  their  marriage.  If  there  be  children,  they 
go  with  their  mother,  and  are  paid  a sum  by  the 
father  proportioned  to  their  necessities,  not  accord- 
ing to  his  means.  He  is  not  obliged,  either  by  law 
or  custom,  to  tell  why  he  discards  her ; and  there 
is  usually  nothing  to  tell,  for  the  wife  is  kept  quite 
as  secluded  and  as  strictly  guarded  as  the  girl. 
The  truth  is  that  this  dreadful  facility  for  divorce 
confers  upon  him  almost  unlimited  power ; and  the 
number  of  an  Egyptian  bey’s  wives  are  limited 
only  by  his  wealth,  for  he  can  change  them  peren- 
nially. One  good  feature  in  this  ghastly  parody 
on  married  happiness  is  that  the  character  of  the 
wife  is  not  injured  by  her  divorce.  She  is  con- 


112 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


sidered  more  marriageable  than  young  ladies,  and 
very  often  is  married  and  divorced  several  times. 

She  never  has  any  volition  nor  weight  of  her 
own.  Back  she  comes  to  her  father  after  each 
divorce,  and  is  disposed  of  by  him  as  if  she  had 
never  left  his  house.  So  she  is  passed  from  hand 
to  hand,  like  the  very  beasts,  until  the  poor  creature 
has  become  old  and  withered.  Then  her  children 
look  after  her  wants,  and  she  lives  a hopeless  exist- 
ence, with  no  pleasant  memories  of  the  past  to 
delight  her  remaining  years,  without  any  solace  and 
consolation  to  hope  for  in  the  future. 

Does  it  not  seem  strange  to  us  that  the  religion 
and  peoples  who  thus  debase  Nature’s  loveliest  work 
and  violate  all  home  ties  once  dominated  Asia  and 
Africa,  Spain  and  Hungary,  broke  the  Roman 
Empire,  extinguished  Persia,  and  even  marched  to 
the  walls  of  Vienna ; that  a century  after  its 
creation  it  was  in  the  heart  of  France,  and  might 
have  overturned  Christianity,  were  it  not  for  the 
Iron  Hammer  at  Tours  ? It  makes  one  marvel  and 
even  tremble  to  think  what  might  have  happened 
had  the  result  of  the  battle  been  otherwise.  Not 
that  I think,  however,  that  they  could  have  retained 
their  position. 

Moslemism  is  the  production  of  a warm  climate. 
It  has  never  effected  a lodgment  in  ice  and  snow, 
and  is  now  being  gradually  driven  back  to  the 


AN  ARAB  MARRIAGE. 


1 T3 


desert,  which  ought  to  be  its  only  home.  It  is  an 
exotic  that  has  been  suffered  to  exist  these  last 
couple  of  centuries  only  through  the  political  exigen- 
cies of  European  nations.  As  an  American,  I shall 
not  undertake  to  say  my  say  on  the  present  position 
of  Turkey  in  Europe,  for  I am  writing  only  of 
Egypt ; but  I do  believe  that  after  the  break  up 
which  is  inevitable,  when  all  Europe,  with  the  isles 
of  the  Egean,  becomes  Christian,  the  religion  of 
Mahomet  will  vanish  like  water  does  on  a leaf 
exposed  to  the  sun.  It  is  difficult  to  comprehend 
how  it  ever  achieved  so  extensive  a sway  or  lasted 
so  lone:.  I see  nothing:  in  it  attractive  to  an  intelli- 
gent  man,  but  much  that  is  distasteful  and  repugnant. 
The  old  Egyptians,  with  their  sun-worship  and 
their  mummifying,  were  impressive  and  inspiring. 
In  a land  where  the  sun  is  Life,  is  it  a wonder  that 
people  worshipped  it  as  the  beginning  of  all  things  ? 
We  could  very  easily  fall  into  that  way  of  thinking 
even  now,  if  we  lived  a thousand  years  or  so  in 
Egypt,  were  it  not  for  the  prosaic  and  convincing 
knowledge  of  its  constituents.  Confucius  and  Gau- 
tama have  both,  in  the  beliefs  that  they  instituted 
and  fostered,  thoughts  and  sentiments  which  honour 
themselves  and  their  followers,  while  Moslemism 
is  but  little  more  than  the  very  human  creed  of 
a man  of  action  and  passion,  consecrating  our  worst 
impulses  by  ascribing  them  to  a Divine  origin. 


i 


H4 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 

The  English  control  Egypt  with  three  thousand 
British  troops,  of  whom  the  greater  part  are  stationed 
at  Cairo.  There  are  twelve  thousand  Egyptians  in 
the  army,  counting  those  in  the  Soudan.  They  have 
a very  good  and  complete  equipment.  The  soldiers 
are  armed  with  the  latest  style  of  breech-loading 
rifles.  As  they  are  required  for  duty  only  here  and 
in  the  Soudan,  their  camp  outfit  is  very  light,  but 
yet  quite  sufficient..  Each  man  is  supplied  with  a 
single  change  of  under-clothing,  comb  and  brush, 
a pair  of  hoots,  and  two  pairs  of  stockings.  His 
bedding  consists  of  one  thin  blanket,  and  under  the 
warm  skies  of  the  East  it  is  plenty.  The  uniform 
is  white,  of  a very  light  material,  and  they  all  wear 
the  universal  red  fez  with  the  black  tassel.  There 
never  is  much  chance  for  style  in  men’s  hats  in  the 
East.  All  the  Moslems,  from  the  Sultan  and 
Khedive  down  to  the  poorest  groom,  wear  the 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


ll5 


tarbush  or  fez.  There  must  be  some  religious  law, 
I fancy,  to  explain  this,  though  what  it  is  I do 
not  know.  It  is  very  odd,  too,  that  they  should  use 
such  a cover  for  the  head  in  these  burning  climes. 
The  red  colour,  it  seems  to  me,  attracts  heat,  and 
there  is  no  rim  to  protect  one’s  eyes  or  neck. 
Ophthalmia  is  dreadful  here,  and  the  constant  ex- 
posure of  the  eyes  to  the  glare  of  the  midday  sun 
may  he  one  cause  of  this  scourge.  The  turban  is 
worn  by  the  Arabs  proper  and  the  Syrians,  who 
wind  a shawl  of  various  colours  lightly  around  the 
fez ; hut  in  the  army  this  is  not  permitted.  The 
soldiers  are  constantly  drilled,  and  strict  discipline 
is  enforced. 

The  company  officers  are  natives ; the  regimental 
and  other  superior  officers  English.  The  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  Egyptian  army  is  an  English- 
man, who  holds  also  a post  in  the  English  army  of 
an  inferior  grade. 

Krupp  guns  of  the  latest  manufacture,  made  in 
fact  in  1887,  are  part  of  the  artillery.  Some  of 
these  guns  were  at  Toski,  the  battle  fought  with  the 
Soudanese  near  Wady  Haifa  this  year,  and  did  good 
service.  They  were  worked  entirely  by  native 
artillerymen.  They  have  but  one  horse  battery  in 
the  army,  but  there  are  also  mule  and  camel  batteries. 
That  is  to  say,  some  guns  are  packed  upon  mules 
and  others  upon  camels,  each  constituting  a separate 


1 1 6 EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 

battery  with  complete  outfit  of  officers  and  men,  who 
are  all  foot  soldiers.  These  are  ligdit  guns  of  the 
Gatling  type,  designed  solely  for  use  in  the  Soudan, 
where  all  Egypt’s  troubles  of  late  years  have  been. 

The  cavalry  are  mounted  upon  horses  of  Syrian 
and  Arabian  descent,  most  of  the  horses  being  white. 
The  far-famed  Arabian  steed  is  not  a large  animal. 
I should  say  that  he  is  smaller  than  the  average 
thoroughbred  let  alone  draft  horse  in  America.  He 
carries  himself  proudly  and  well,  but  he  does  not 
seem  to  have  much  strength.  Arabian  horses  would 
never  do  in  the  shock  of  a European  battle.  If 
they  were  mounted  by  heavy  German  cuirassiers, 
armed  and  equipped  as  is  the  custom  nowadays, 
they  would  go  down  before  the  charge  of  Normandy 
stallions  like  reeds  before  the  winds.  They  could 
not  sustain  much  weight. 

But  they  have  speed  for  a time,  and  endurance,  in 
this  climate  under  which  American  horses  would 
falter.  The  horses  are  like  the  men,  slender  and 
agile  rather  than  heavy  and  strong. 

The  old  story  of  Coeur-de-Lion  splitting  the 
lignum-vitae  wood  with  his  heavy  sword,  and 
Saladin  cutting  with  his  keen  scimitar  the  silken 
pillow  held  loosely  by  one  hand,  tells  the  difference 
between  the  East  and  West  to-day  as  it  did  then. 

But  as  energy  comes  with  strength,  and  power 
with  emulation,  so  the  Western  races  are  pushing 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT 


117 

the  lethargic  Eastern  peoples  farther  and  farther  into 
the  deserts. 

They  have  also  in  this  little  bit  of  an  army  a 
camel  corps,  which  I suppose  is  the  only  thing  of  the 
kind  in  existence.  It  consists  of  a hundred  drome- 
daries, that  are  to  the  camel  what  the  racehorse  is 
to  the  work-horse.  The  dromedaries  are  mounted 
by  only  one  soldier  each,  and  are  very  light  and 
natty  in  their  appearance.  There  is  nothing  of  the 
heavy  lumbering  camel  in  their  attitude  and  gait. 
They  are  capable  of  going  immense  distances. 

Gordon,  who  laid  down  his  life  in  Khartoum,  once 
rode  one  hundred  and  six  miles  in  twelve  hours  on 
a single  dromedary.  Their  normal  speed  in  the 
desert  is  seven  miles  an  hour,  which  they  can  keep 
up  all  day  without  water,  eating  at  night  but  very 
little  food.  A small  quantity  of  cut  hay  or  straw  is 
all  they  want.  Though  such  huge  beasts,  they  eat 
nothing  like  the  quantity  required  by  American 
horses.  The  battalion  carry  with  them  fodder  for  a 
week  or  ten  days,  which,  with  the  soldier  and  his 
accoutrements,  and  food  also,  is  all  packed  on  the 
back  of  a single  dromedary.  They  are  very  service- 
able in  the  Soudan,  where  they  are  employed  as 
scouts,  and  in  advanced  positions  in  front  of  the 
army. 

At  the  review  on  the  occasion  of  the  recent  visit 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  Cairo,  they  went  past  in 


1 18 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


good  style,  keeping  step  to  the  music  with  fair  pre- 
cision, though  I must  say  that  their  appearance  was 
more  amusing  than  formidable.  While  this  cannot 
be  said  of  the  whole  Egyptian  army,  yet  they  would 
not,  I fancy,  be  very  dangerous  to  a European  or 
American  force.  Whatever  be  the  cause,  these 
Eastern  races  have  neither  physical  strength  nor 
physical  courage. 

The  belief  in  predestination  or  fatality,  which  is 
so  universal  here,  has  something  to  do  with  it. 
They  think  that  what  is  to  happen  will  happen,  and 
what  is  the  use  of  opposing  fate  ? If  any  reverse 
comes,  “ Grod  is  great,”  and  that  is  about  all  they 
are  ready  to  do  to  influence  events. 

The  common  soldier  gets  five  cents  a day.  His 
food  is  good  and  plentiful,  very  much  better  than  he 
finds  in  his  own  house,  hut  it  is  all  vegetables  and 
bread.  Meat,  I believe,  is  allowed  twice  a week,  and 
then  in  limited  supply.  Doubtless  the  soldier  would 
not  eat  it  more  frequently,  for  it  is  not  his  habit.  The 
poor  hard-working  people,  from  whose  ranks  the 
army  is  recruited,  eat  meat  about  once  a month,  and 
then  it  is  poultry,  not  beef.  This  does  not  make 
robust  bodies  or  brave  spirits.  The  officers  are  of  a 
better  class  physically,  for,  having  a higher  social 
position,  doubtless  they  live  on  more  nourishing  food. 
The  captains  and  majors  receive  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  a month,  which  is  very  good  pay  in  Egypt, 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT.  119 

including  as  it  does  rations  and,  in  the  case  of  the 
artillery  and  cavalry,  a private  horse.  Servants  of 
the  officers  are  found  in  the  Soudan,  as  a result  of 
the  various  wars  and  forays.  They  are  not  slaves, 
for  the  law  says  so,  but,  all  the  same,  they  get  no 
pay,  remain  with  their  masters,  working  faithfully 
on  a few  vegetables  and  hard  bread  daily.  The 
officer  may  “ present  ” them  to  another  person,  and 
they  must  go  and  work  there  just  the  same. 

But  this  condition  of  life  is  very  much  better  to 
the  poor  black  than  the  Soudan,  where  the  problem 
just  now  seems  to  be  how  to  get  food  to  live.  After 
Toski  nearly  three  thousand  fugitives  and  prisoners 
were  brought  at  various  times  to  Cairo,  and  sent  to 
different  places  in  Lower  Egypt.  Almost  all  of 
them  were  in  a state  of  semi-starvation,  and  the 
movement  northward,  that  resulted  so  disastrously 
to  the  Soudanese,  seems  to  have  been  caused  by 
actual  want  of  food  quite  as  much  as  religious 
fanaticism.  Thus  as  the  servants  of  the  officers 
cost  nothing  but  their  food,  and  one  garment  worth 
a couple  of  dollars  every  two  months,  they  can  live 
very  well  on  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  monthly. 

They  are  all  married,  both  officers  and  privates. 
It  is  very  rare  to  meet  a Moslem  at  the  age  of 
twenty  years  who  is  not  married,  and  when  he  is 
thirty-five  or  forty  the  world  must  have  gone  very 
hard  with  him  if  he  has  not  been  married  and 


I 20 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


divorced  four  or  five  times.  Men  who  show  this 
boldness  ought  to  make  good  and  brave  soldiers,  one 
would  say ; but  they  do  not.  At  Tel-el-Kebir  they 
were  behind  good  fortifications,  with  guns  of  ap- 
proved pattern,  with  Arabi  Pasha,  a leader  of  some 
military  ability,  at  their  head,  and  fought  in  a 
patriotic  cause — the  cause  of  their  own  country. 
For  of  course  the  English  were  and  are  invaders. 
They  had  everything  that  could  induce  men  to 
stand  up  and  fight,  and,  besides,  they  outnumbered 
the  enemy  two  to  one.  Yet  when  the  Ilighlanders 
charged  them  with  the  cold  bayonet,  before  they  got 
to  the  parapet,  the  Egyptians  broke  and  ran  like 
sheep,  officers  as  well  as  the  soldiers.  There  were 
not  many  killed,  for  they  did  not  stop  at  the  battle- 
field long  enough.  A certain  officer,  who  was  at  the 
battle  and  is  now  in  the  army,  very  candidly  said 
to  me,  “ When  I saw  the  Highlanders  running 
towards  the  fortress,  with  their  red  faces,  giant 
forms,  bare  legs,  and  bright  bayonets  glittering  in 
the  morning  sun,  I thought  they  were  very  devils, 
and  I dropped  my  sword,  turned  tail,  and  never 
stopped  until  I was  safely  lodged  in  my  own  house 
at  Cairo.”  These  are  the  descendants  of  the  soldiers 
of  Rameses,  who  came  very  near  conquering  about 
all  that  was  then  known  of  the  world.  They  go 
home,  say  “ Kismet"  and  “ Allali-il-  Allah ! ” and 
then  await  the  coming  of  the  victor. 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EG  YET. 


12 


After  the  battle  of  Tel-el-Kebir  a few  Englishmen 
rode  straight  to  Cairo,  entered  the  citadel,  and  took 
possession  of  the  town  without  the  least  resistance. 
As  it  was  with  the  Greeks,  the  Homans,  the  Turks, 
the  Mamelukes,  and  Bonaparte,  so  it  is  now  with  the 
English.  The  fellaheen  change  their  masters  with- 
out fear  and  without  hope.  They  go  about  their 
affairs,  the  women  bring  water  from  the  canals  and 
the  river  as  did  Rebecca,  and  the  men  have  their 
little  shops  and  cuddy-holes  in  the  streets,  where 
they  work  industriously  from  morning  to  night. 
They  are  never  very  happy  nor  very  miserable. 
Seldom  do  they  laugh,  or  seldom  does  one  see  a 
number  of  them  jolly  at  a cafe'.  They  take  their 
enjo}Tment  sedately,  and  smoke  and  talk  with  such 
seriousness  and  attention  that  one  might  think 
weighty  affairs  were  in  question,  when  they  are 
probably  discussing  whether  the  pomegranates  of 
this  year  contain  more  seeds  than  those  of  last. 

These  people  give  but  little  trouble  to  the  invader, 
and  rarely  revolt.  If  they  are  permitted  the  free 
exercise  of  their  religion,  without  let  or  hindrance, 
there  will  never  be  any  trouble  with  them.  And 
the  English  are  acting  here  with  their  accustomed 
tact,  of  which  I saw  so  many  examples  in  India. 
Their  rule  is  so  slight  that  it  is  hardly  felt,  and 
when  enforced  it  is  ever  on  the  side  of  justice. 
They  charge  the  Egyptian  treasury  a million  dollars 


122 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


every  year  for  the  maintenance  of  the  English 
troops  in  Egypt ; but  this  sum  is  invariable,  and 
is  all  that  Egypt  is  asked  to  pay,  even  if  there  be 
a whole  British  corps  d’armee  in  the  country.  The 
receipts  and  expenditure  average  about  fifty  million 
dollars  annually.  What  a tremendous  sum  for  a 
purely  agricultural  kingdom  with  not  seven  million 
inhabitants  ? If  we  were  equally  taxed  in  America 
we  should  have  to  raise  five  hundred  million  dollars 
annually.  Half  of  this  fifty  millions  goes  to  pay 
interest  on  the  debt  contracted  by  Ismail  Pasha,  the 
father  and  predecessor  of  the  present  Khedive.  He 
was  a darling  both  in  his  manner  of  borrowing  and 
spending  money.  He  borrowed  money  in  Europe, 
mainly  in  England,  giving  a bond  for  a hundred 
dollars  at,  say,  five  per  cent.,  and  getting  actually 
in  money  fifty  or  sixty  dollars  only.  For  the 
persons  who  bought  the  bonds  would  only  do  so 
at  a great  discount,  as  they  did  not  know  if  they 
would  ever  see  a cent  of  it  amain. 

O 

One  quarter  of  what  Ismail  received  he  had  to 
subdivide  with  the  pashas  and  higher  officials,  so 
that  there  would  be  harmony  among  all  the  thieves. 
Of  the  rest,  half  was  devoted  to  the  wants  and  needs 
of  the  country,  building  railroads,  canals,  etc.,  and 
the  moiety  went  for  the  purchase  of  pretty  Circassian 
girls  and  the  importation  of  French  operatic  troupes, 
with  whom  Ismail  held  high  carnival  at  Cairo,  under 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


123 


the  shadow  of  the  Pyramids.  So  it  will  be  seen 
that,  of  every  hundred  dollars  added  to  the  debt  of 
Egypt,  not  one  quarter  of  it  was  used  for  the  legiti- 
mate purposes  and  necessities  under  cover  of  which 
it  was  obtained. 

But  this  “Arabian  Nights”  business  of  Ismail’s 
could  not  last  for  ever.  One  fine  morning  he  was 
told  that  he  could  borrow  no  more  money ; that  he 
had  run  his  race  ; that  in  the  opinion  of  the  civilized 
world  he  was  not  fit  to  govern  the  country,  and  so 
he  must  resign,  turn  over  the  Khediveship  to  his 
eldest  son,  and  leave  Egypt. 

This  was  not  very  pleasant  news  to  a man  who 
had  been  leading  a sort  of  Haroun  al-Raschid  life 
for  ten  years,  who  had  a hundred  of  the  loveliest 
houris  of  the  East  in  his  harem,  who  had  entertained 
empresses  and  princes  in  a truly  regal  manner,  and 
who  had  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  his  sub- 
jects. But  he  had  made  no  provision  when  getting 
this  money  to  pay  it  back.  He  had  no  sinking  fund. 
He  did  not  pay  the  interest.  He  had  thought  of 
nothing  but  his  own  personal  pleasure,  never  of 
the  country,  and  he  had  to  go,  with  very  little  regret 
on  the  part  of  the  people,  who  were  tired  of  this 
typical  Oriental  despot.  Yet  there  was  nothing 
cruel  or  malicious  about  Ismail.  He  lives  now  in 
Constantinople,  and  is  a bon  vivant.  He  is  one 
of  those  princes  who  think  the  world  was  made 


124 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


solely  for  their  good  will  and  pleasure,  and  who  are 
awakened  some  day  by  the  knowledge  that  “ Nous 
avons  change  tout  cela.” 

Yet  between  the  bond-holders  and  Ismail  there 
was  not  much  choice.  The  latter  demanded  their 
pound  of  flesh,  blood  and  all.  They  wanted  the 
whole  hundred  dollars  for  which  they  gave  only 
one-half,  and  because  Ismail  would  not  consent  they 
put  him  out.  Then  there  was  a sort  of  interregnum. 
No  one  knew  what  to  do.  The  bond-holders  de- 
manded that  Europe  should  enforce  payment  of 
their  demands ; the  Egyptians  became  fretful  and 
nervous — that  is,  the  higher  classes,  who  are  in  part 
the  children  of  the  Mamelukes  that  formerly  governed 
the  land. 

One  of  the  officers,  named  Arabi  Pasha,  was  the 
forerunner  of  Boulangism.  Arabi  made  himself 
popular  with  the  army,  gradually  advanced  in 
powder,  and  assumed  the  real  command.  A spark 
of  love  of  country  appeared.  The  Egyptians  actually 
became  patriotic.  Thirty-two  thousand  of  them 
gathered  around  Arabi  Pasha  at  Tel-el-Ivebir  after 
the  bombardment  of  Alexandria.  It  was  the  largest 
array  of  Egyptians  that  has  been  assembled  during 
this  century. 

But  the  cold  steel  of  the  British  was  too  bright 
and  keen  for  their  courage.  They  left  the  field. 
Arabi  was  taken  and  consigned  to  Ceylon,  just  as 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


125 


Napoleon  was  sent  to  St.  Helena.  The  English 
have  not  changed  their  method  of  disposing  of  their 
fallen  foes.  That  was  seven  years  ago,  and  the 
British  are  here  now,  and  they  are  going  to  stay. 

The  French,  with  that  fatuousness  which  charac- 
terizes all  their  political  transactions  these  late  years, 
refused  to  join  with  England  in  the  occupation 
of  Egypt,  though  they  were  asked  and  implored  to 
do  so,  for  at  that  time  England  did  not  want  to 
assume  the  responsibility  alone.  The  French  nation 
sent  an  army  thousands  of  miles  to  Tonquin,  an 
unhealthy  malarious  country,  where  nothing  was  to 
he  gained  but  fevers  and  disease.  They  squandered 
untold  sums  of  money,  and,  after  all,  hold  only  that 
part  of  the  country  where  their  soldiers  encamp  and 
sleep,  and  no  more.  Yet  they  refused  to  occupy 
Egypt,  one  of  the  most  fertile  and  healthy  countries 
in  the  world,  but  three  or  four  days’  sail  from 
Marseilles,  which  exports  every  year  large  crops 
of  cotton  and  other  produce.  Moreover,  they  had 
Algeria  on  the  same  side  of  the  Mediterranean  as 
Egypt,  and  they  might  have  hoped  some  day  to 
see  the  two  countries  joined  and  possess  an  empire 
from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Pillars  of  Hercules.  In  the 
break  up  of  Eastern  kingdoms  that  must  come  with 
the  next  great  war,  all  these  contingencies  were  not 
improbable. 

But,  then,  these  speculations  are  of  no  fruit  now, 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


1 26 

for  the  English,  with  their  usual  foresight  and 
judgment,  took  the  risk,  gained  the  prize,  and  will 
keep  it.  On  the  eve  of  the  bombardment  of  Alex- 
andria, the  French  fleet  sailed  away,  and  left  the 
English  to  do  the  work  alone,  which  they  did,  and 
did  well. 

When  they  came  to  Cairo  and  assumed  practically 
the  control  of  the  Government,  they  found  affairs  in 
a sad  state  of  confusion.  There  did  not  appear  to 
be  an  honest  upright  man  in  the  Government. 
Many  were  adventurers  from  foreign  lands.  The 
pashas  were,  as  a rule,  a worthless  lot ; the  soldiers,  a 
rabble  that  could  not  be  trusted.  To  keep  himself 
in  place  during  his  latter  years,  Ismail  had  to  admit 
to  some  office  and  make  a pasha  or  bey  of  every  one 
who  had  any  influence  with  the  soldiery,  or  who 
had  sufficient  address  to  make  his  services  necessary. 
It  was  the  Praetorian  Guards  and  a Roman  emperor 
over  again  on  a small  scale,  or  like  San  Francisco 
politics  under  the  ring  rule  of  Buckley.  One  illus- 
tration will  suffice.  In  Egypt  they  do  things 
differently  from  everywhere  else.  For  instance, 
where  we  use  shovels  and  spades  they  have  baskets. 
A railroad  was  being  constructed  by  the  Govern- 
ment, and  the  contract  to  supply  hand  baskets  to 
remove  the  earth  from  the  excavations  and  track 
was  awarded  for  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  Afterwards  there  was  a squabble  between 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


127 


the  contractor  and  his  associates,  and  they  went  to 
law.  It  then  appeared  that  he  was  to  have  only 
seventy-five  thousand  dollars,  while  the  remaining 
three  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  were 
to  be  apportioned  among  the  higher  officials  who  had 
assisted  him  to  get  the  contract.  Out  of  his  seventy- 
five  thousand  dollars  he  gained  enough  to  build 
a good  house,  and  lives  in  affluence  on  the  remainder, 
lending  his  money  to  the  Egyptians  at  one  and  one 
and  a half  per  cent,  monthly.  And  to  think  that 
these  poor  people  have  to  pay  such  stealings  to-day ! 
It  was  well  that  Ismail  left,  for  he  would  have  sold 
or  mortgaged  the  Pyramids  very  soon. 

The  British  went  to  work  in  a thorough  and 
energetic  manner  to  cleanse  the  Augean  stables. 
They  stopped  the  system  of  farming  out  the  revenues, 
and  established  a uniform  tax  on  the  land,  based  on 
a just  and  proper  estimate  of  its  value.  They  made 
contracts  for  supplying  the  army,  guaranteeing 
prompt  and  certain  payment.  They  dismissed  a 
number  of  useless  and  expensive  officers,  and 
abolished  several  obsolete  sinecures.  They  curtailed 
extravagance  wherever  it  was  found,  and  practised 
as  well  as  preached  economy  in  the  governmental 
departments.  These  changes  brought  about  a much 
better  state  of  affairs. 

The  credit  of  Egypt  improved,  its  floating  debt 
was  partially  funded,  and  though  it  owes  five  hundred 


128 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


million  dollars,  yet  its  bonds  are  quoted  nearly  at 
par.  The  pity  of  it  is  that  the  country  has  nothing 
for  this  immense  weight  on  its  future,  and  in  order 
to  pay  the  interest,  which  is  half  the  annual  budget, 
the  lands  are  taxed  as  high  as  eight  dollars  an  acre, 
though  the  value  is  only  a hundred  to  a hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  per  acre.  They  produce  two,  and, 
on  alternate  years,  three  crops  annually. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  advantage  accruing  to  Egypt 
from  the  English  occupation  is  the  care  and  scientific 
knowledge  that  have  been  devoted  to  the  canal  system. 
Formerly,  if  there  happened  to  be  a low  Nile,  or 
one  a little  below  the  average,  certain  lands  in  the 
Delta  were  deprived  of  water  supplies  and  remained 
barren.  This  evil  had  existed  for  many  years,  but 
no  one  seemed  to  have  enough  power  and  authority 
to  apply  the  remedy,  which  was  a proper  distribu- 
tion of  the  Nile  water  when  in  flood.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  all  the  lands  in  Egypt  reached  by 
the  Nile  are  fertile.  There  is  no  such  thing  as 
wearing  out  or  exhausting  the  ground. 

The  Nile  has  a swift  current.  It  runs  by  Cairo 
at  the  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour.  It  is  more  rapid 
than  any  of  the  other  large  rivers  in  the  world. 
Therefore  the  soil  that  drops  into  the  river  in  the 
washing  away  of  the  banks  in  Abyssinia  during  the 
rainy  season  has  not  time  to  settle.  It  is  carried 
along  very  much  more  than  a thousand  miles,  and 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EG  VET. 


129 


for  that  whole  distance  the  bed  of  the  Nile  lias  been 
elevated  a few  feet  only  in  centuries  and  centuries. 
They  have  an  instrument  for  measuring  the  annual 
rise  of  the  waters,  on  an  island  in  the  river  in  front 
of  Cairo,  and  it  is  in  exactly  the  same  place  that  it 
was  twenty  odd  centuries  ago.  That  shows  the 
very  little  change  in  the  bed  of  the  river.  But  after 
passing  Cairo  a few  miles  on  its  way  to  the  sea,  the 
single  channel  which  holds  the  whole  river  for 
nearly  fifteen  hundred  miles  ceases  or  changes,  and. 
the  waters  find  their  way  to  the  Mediterranean  by 
several  outlets.  It  is  here  that  canals  become 
numerous,  and  here  the  foreigners  have  done  good 
service.  They  have  turned  the  water  into  these 
canals,  and  distribute  it  equitably  to  all. 

Xne  soil  that  has  come  all  the  way  from  the  moun- 
tains and  table-lands  of  Abyssinia,  and  never  had 
time  to  stop,  gradually  settles  in  the  slow  current  of 
the  canals  in  the  Delta,  or  is  dug  out  and  scattered 
over  those  places  where  the  water  does  not  reach. 
It  is  rich  fertile  black  loam,  and  annually  with  the 
inundation  of  the  Nile  renews  the  life  of  Egypt, 
keeping  it  ever  young  and  fresh  under  the  warm 
sun.  Before  the  English  came,  the  land  farthest 
away  had  no  water  during  a bad  Nile,  as  the  scant 
supply  was  all  used  by  those  owning  estates  nearer  to 
the  river.  But  now  the  canals  have  been  enlarged  and 
lengthened,  and  proper  overseers  placed  over  them. 


I3° 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


The  water  is  jealously  guarded  and  given  to 
each  in  turn.  That  is,  it  is  allowed  to  run  on  one 
man’s  land  for  a certain  number  of  days,  and  after- 
wards on  that  of  others.  In  former  times  the 
land  of  the  poor  fellah  lay  burning  under  the  hot 
sun,  while  that  of  the  rich  bey  was  amply  supplied ; 
but  under  the  new  system  the  water  is  doled  forth 
impartially  to  all.  It  is  a lesson  in  justice  and 
economy  that  I hope  the  Egyptians  will  not  forget. 

The  British  also  excavated  reservoirs,  or  rather 
dug  out  the  old  ones,  for  the  Pharaohs  did  this 
same  thing  in  their  time.  These  reservoirs  are 
filled  when  the  Nile  is  in  flood,  and  furnish  plenty 
of  water  for  two  or  three  months  after  the  river 
has  receded  and  the  large  canals  are  dry. 

Though  there  have  been  what  are  called  “ bad 
Niles  ” no  less  than  twice  since  the  British  came 
here  seven  years  ago,  yet  the  crops  have  been  fairly 
good,  by  reason  of  their  wise  administration. 

At  the  completion  of  the  contemplated  changes  in 
the  canals  of  the  Delta,  a failure  of  the  crops  will  be 
unknown.  It  need  never  occur  in  Egypt,  where 
the  quantity  of  water,  though  varying  greatly  in 
different  years,  is  always  sufficient,  if  properly 
husbanded  and  distributed.  Is  it,  then,  any  wonder 
that  in  olden  days  it  was  the  granary  of  the  world, 
or  that,  from  Abraham  down  to  the  Homans,  all 
peoples  looked  to  Egypt  for  sustenance  ? When  the 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EG  YPT. 


*3i 


ships  loaded  with  grain  at  Alexandria  were  detained 
by  storms  or  pirates,  Rome,  even  when  mistress  of  the 
world,  suffered  from  scarcity  of  bread,  so  necessary 
was  Egypt  to  its  existence.  Yet  the  whole  culti- 
vated area  of  the  country  does  not  exceed  five 
million  acres,  and  it  never  was  any  more.  It  is 
true  that,  in  the  time  of  Rameses,  Lake  Mareotis 
supplied  with  water  a large  part  of  the  Fayoom,  an 
oasis  west  of  the  Nile  above  Cairo,  that  now,  in 
consequence  of  the  destruction  of  the  lake,  is  partially 
abandoned  to  the  desert  sands  and  wind ; still  the 
area  in  the  Delta  proper  has  very  much  increased. 
There  is  hardly  a single  acre  for  ninety  miles  north 
and  east  of  Cairo  that  is  not  tilled,  and  which  does 
not  yield  rich  stores  of  cotton,  sugar,  and  corn. 

The  seven  channels  of  the  Nile  below  Cairo  have 
been  contracted  to  two.  The  lands  thus  gained  are 
devoted  to  agriculture,  and,  with  the  admirable 
method  of  the  British,  need  never  want  water  nor 
labour  enough  to  afford  full  returns.  The  Egyptian 
method  now  in  vogue  ought  to  be  studied  by 
Californian  farmers.  The  level  valleys  of  the  San 
Joaquin  and  Sacramento,  with  their  adjacent  moun- 
tain ranges  crowned  with  snow  in  winter,  should 
be  covered  with  a network  of  rivulets  and  large 
canals,  carrying  down  the  pure  waters  of  the  sierra 
to  the  thirsty  lands  below. 


J32 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

the  English  in  Egypt — continued. 

The  English,  notwithstanding  these  good  services 
that  they  render  Egypt,  are  by  no  means  popular 
here.  Their  economies  are  close  and  unnecessary 
to  the  Eastern  mind,  and  their  strictness  of  discipline 
is  irksome  to  the  kismet-believing  soldier. 

Then,  again,  they  have  to  find  work  for  English- 
men. So  they  steadily  displace  natives  from  the 
Government  offices,  and  fill  the  void  with  their 
own  race.  This  process  of  leavening  goes  on  with- 
out cessation.  When  a vacancy  occurs  in  a good 
position,  either  in  the  war,  interior,  or  administrative 
departments,  an  Englishman  is  selected  for  the  place. 
He,  of  course,  knows  Arabic,  or  straightway  learns 
how  to  talk  it  at  least.  Indeed,  a knowledge  of 
Arabic  does  not  seem  to  be  so  necessary  as  French, 
which  is  universally  spoken  by  the  beys  and  Pashas. 
The  English  are  gradually  changing  the  whole 
nature  of  the  Government  in  substance,  if  not  in 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EG  YET. 


*33 


form,  much  to  the  dismay  and  disgust  of  the  old 
fossils  who  have  been  battening  on  the  wealth  of 
Egypt  so  many  years. 

It  is  astonishing  how  many  foreigners  have  found 
their  way  to  Egypt  and  occupy  important  posts — 
Americans,  Armenians,  Austrians,  Italians,  and 
Germans.  One  meets  them  at  the  club,  and  they  are 
all  beys  or  pashas.  I do  not  think  it  would  be  exactly 
right  to  style  them  adventurers,  for  many  of  them 
came  here  on  the  invitation  of  Ismail  Pasha,  but  still 
they  appear  to  have  had  the  cream  of  all  the  good 
things,  and  to  have  lived  for  years  on  the  fat  of  the 
land.  They  adopted  the  fez,  which  I believe  is  obli- 
gatory on  all  those  in  Government  service,  learned 
Arabic,  in  time  had  nice  houses  or  even  palaces  for 
residences,  and  were  happy  and  prosperous.  While 
they  did  not  adopt  the  Moslem  religion,  nor  renounce 
their  nationality,  yet,  as  they  had  adopted  another 
country  for  their  home,  they  seem  also  to  have  mar- 
ried other  than  their  own  countrywomen.  I know 
of  a German  married  to  an  Armenian,  an  American  to 
an  Austrian,  an  Italian  to  a Syrian.  I do  not  know 
why  this  should  be,  for  during  the  year  many  women 
belonging  to  all  nations  visit  Egypt ; but  these  men 
seem  to  have  done  everything  possible  to  make  the 
memories  of  their  early  homes  as  faint  and  indistinct 
as  may  be.  They  are  men  of  ability,  education,  and 
courage,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  Egyptians 


*34 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


entrusted  to  them  almost  the  whole  control  of  affairs. 
Yet  they  looked  after  their  private  interests  with 
quite  as  much  care  and  attention  as  that  of  the 
nation.  The  interest  on  the  debt  might  not  be  paid, 
bondholders  might  be  clamouring  and  threatening, 
the  country  might  he  suffering  under  grievous  and 
unjust  taxation ; but  the  foreign  Pashas  and  beys  must 
have  their  fine  Arabian  coursers,  European  carriages, 
numerous  domestics,  and  all  the  pomp  and  circum- 
stance of  a rich  and  showy  nobleman. 

To  these  men  the  coming  of  the  English  was 
most  surely  an  unmixed  evil.  There  is  nothing 
but  the  blackness  of  despair  and  a hopeless  future 
before  them.  Not  only  are  they  one  by  one  dis- 
placed by  the  remorseless  English,  but  even  a pen- 
sion is  denied  them.  Ismail’s  Government,  and 
also  that  of  his  successor,  always  gave  liberal  pen- 
sions after  a certain  tenure  of  service.  This  custom 
is  now  in  great  measure  stopped,  and,  in  fact,  they 
go  to  the  other  extreme  in  the  general  practice  of 
that  economy  which  now  pervades  the  administra- 
tion. Foreigners,  and  even  natives  who  have  been 
in  the  Government  service  in  various  capacities  for 
twenty  years  and  upwards,  are  refused  annuities 
on  the  ground  that,  seeing  there  was  no  law  to  that 
effect,  the  country  could  not  afford  to  be  generous. 

Some  of  the  foreigners  have  applied  to  the  Mixed 
Courts  for  their  remedy,  but  the  law  is  as  slow  iu 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EG  YPT. 


*35 


Egypt  as  everywhere  else,  and  the  chances  of  suc- 
cess very  meagre.  It  is  a question  now,  if  a favour- 
able decision  was  obtained  from  the  Mixed  Court, 
whether  the  English  would  permit  it  to  be  recog- 
nized. 

This  Mixed  Court  is  a curious  institution.  It  gives 
an  idea  of  the  condition  to  which  this  land,  at  one 
time  the  most  powerful  in  the  world,  is  now  reduced. 
In  the  troubles  that  have  arisen  from  time  to  time, 
it  was  found,  or  thought,  that  foreigners  had  not 
sufficient  justice  meted  out  to  them  in  the  native 
courts.  The  European  nations  demanded  a separate 
jurisdiction  for  their  subjects,  before  which  they 
could  be  tried  for  offences  committed  in  Egypt.  So 
the  six  Great  Powers — England,  France,  Germany, 
Austria,  Russia,  and  Italy — each  appointed  a judge. 
This  judge,  who  is  of  the  nation  appointing  him, 
is  subject  to  approval  by  the  Khedive’s  Government, 
holds  office  for  five  years,  and  is  paid  eight  thousand 
dollars  annually.  The  odd  part  is  that  the  Egyptian 
Government  has  to  pay  this  eight  thousand  dollars 
for  the  trial  of  foreigners  before  foreign  courts. 
It  costs  them  about  seventy-five  thousand  dollars 
a year,  and  it  is  really  an  outrage  that  the  Great 
Powers  should  so  impose  on  this  helpless  country. 
At  first  the  court  consisted  of  one  member  from 
each  of  the  Powers ; but,  later,  the  importance  of 
the  United  States  was  recognized,  and  that  Govern- 


i36 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


ment  was  invited  to  join  the  others  and  appoint 
a judge,  which  it  did. 

The  mixed  tribunal  has  complete  jurisdiction 
over  all  cases  affecting  their  subjects,  both  civil 
and  criminal.  If  a German  or  a Frenchman 
wounds  or  kills  an  Egyptian,  and  can  get  to  his 
house  or  hotel,  he  is  safe  from  arrest.  Unlike 
Moses,  he  need  not  go  into  exile  and  await  the 
death  of  Pharaoh.  The  native  police  dare  not 
molest  him.  Complaint  is  made  to  the  tribunal, 
and  the  cavasse,  or  guard,  of  the  consul-general  of 
his  own  nation  takes  him  into  custody.  No  one 
else  has  the  right  to  touch  him.  He  is  tried  before 
the  tribunal,  which  is  certainly  not  harsh,  and,  if 
acquitted,  is  discharged.  Even  if  found  guilty  and 
sentenced  to  jail,  the  place  of  imprisonment  is 
selected  by  the  court,  and  is  never  a native  prison, 
hut  some  ship  in  the  harbour  at  Alexandria  or  other 
place  beyond  the  control  of  the  Egyptians.  Claims 
by  foreigners  against  the  Government  are  prose- 
cuted before  the  tribunal,  and  if  judgment  is  found 
for  the  claimant,  the  administration  must  pay.  For 
in  the  documents  constituting  the  court  it  is  agreed 
to  respect  and  enforce  the  court’s  decisions,  not  only 
against  the  Egyptians,  but  against  the  Government 
itself. 

I sincerely  hope  that  the  English  will  add  to 
the  other  good  reforms  that  they  have  made  the 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


137 


one  of  abolishing  this  court;  or,  if  not,  that  they 
should  at  least  reduce  its  powers  and  prerogatives, 
and  see  that  its  members  are  paid  by  their  respec- 
tive Governments,  and  not  by  debt-ridden  Egypt. 

In  all  this  change  and  intrigue  the  poor  Khedive 
cuts  a very  sorry  figure ; and  yet  he  is  the  most 
gentle  and  courteous  Eastern  prince  now  living. 
His  grandfather,  Mehemet  Ali,  was  a fierce  bearded 
Turk,  one  of  the  old  stamp,  who  came  over  hero 
as  a military  adventurer  from  Albania,  and  by  sheer 
courage  and  audacity,  made  himself  supreme  in 
Egypt,  lie  was  a rare  old  Turk,  one  of  those 
Byron  would  have  delighted  to  immortalize.  For 
he  was  one  who  thought  no  more  of  killing  his 
enemies  by  deceit  and  treachery  than  of  taking 
another  man’s  wife  if  she  pleased  him.  He  invited 
all  the  Mameluke  beys  to  an  entertainment  one  day 
in  the  citadel  at  Cairo.  After  they  had  entered 
the  courtyard  on  their  prancing  Arabian  chargers, 
glittering  with  brilliant  costumes  and  jewelled-hilted 
scimitars,  Mehemet  coolly  shut  the  front  and  rear 
gates,  and  from  the  windows  of  the  fortress  shot 
them  down  like  Nile  birds.  One  only  escaped. 
He  rode  his  Arabian  straight  at  the  low  parapet 
overlooking  the  precipice  below  and  jumped  over. 
The  fall  was  about  fifty  feet  upon  a pile  of  rubbish. 
Fortune  favours  the  brave.  Both  man  and  horse 
were  scarcely  injured,  and  raced  out  of  the  city, 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


138 

with  Meherhet’s  myrmidons  at  their  heels.  That 
part  of  the  fortress  is  yet  called  La  Saut  du  Mame- 
luke. It  did  not  do  the  poor  bey  much  good,  how- 
ever, for  he  had  to  skulk  like  a thief  in  Upper  Egypt 
until  his  death  a few  years  later. 

Mehemet  lived  to  a good  old  age,  and  then  died 
full  of  years  and  honours.  We  have  so  few  of  his 
kind  in  these  money-making  times,  that  it  is  to  be 
regretted  he  did  not  live  longer.  I hope  some 
aspiring  poet  will  take  cognizance  of  this  slight 
notice  of  his  virtues,  study  up  his  history,  and  give 
to  the  world  a really  good  epic,  telling  us  all  the 
bad  things  he  did.  His  vices  are  so  rare  in  these 
modern  days  that  they  remind  one  of  Tamerlane 
and  Genghis  Khan,  and  his  example  ought  not  to 
be  lost  to  posterity. 

He  lies  now  in  a magnificent  mosque  that  he 
erected  on  the  citadel  hill,  enclosed  by  a golden  grill, 
within  which  a light  is  for  ever  kept  burning.  lie  is 
in  the  full  odour  of  sanctity,  and  doubtless  in  one  or 
two  centuries,  if  they  can  manage  to  keep  his  bones 
untouched,  will  be  revered  as  a holy  Moslem  saint  at 
whose  shrine  it  will  be  profitable  to  make  orisons. 

His  eldest  son  was  Khedive  for  a little  while,  but 
soon  died,  leaving  an  infant  son  Ismail.  Mehemet 
Ali  had  so  well  established  his  dynasty  that,  during 
the  infancy  of  his  grandson,  Egypt  was  governed 
by  a regency  without  hindrance  from  Constantinople. 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


i39 


Egypt  acknowledged  nominally  tlie  suzerainty  of 
the  Porte,  and  yearly  paid  two  million  and  a half 
dollars  as  tribute.  It  is  still  paid  every  year.  But, 
apart  from  that,  the  Sultan  had  nothing  to  do  with 
Egypt.  It  was  practically  independent. 

When  Ismail  Pasha  became  old  enough  to  assume 
the  office  of  Khedive,  he  at  once  plunged  into  dissi- 
pation and  luxury.  He  had  his  grandfather’s  tastes, 
but  not  his  grandfather’s  vigour  and  audacity.  He 
was  ready  to  spend  the  money  that  Europe  gave 
him,  but  he  failed  to  command  the  respect  or  fear  of 
his  people.  So  when  he  had  to  leave,  but  very  few 
showed  any  regret.  His  son,  the  present  Khedive, 
Tewfik  Pasha,  is,  as  I have  said,  the  very  best  type 
of  the  Oriental  sovereign  we  have.  He  has  only 
one  wife  and  no  odalisques,  though  his  father  and 
Mehemet  Ali  had  them  by  the  score.  He  has  four 
children,  two  of  them  young  princes  who  visited 
the  Paris  Exhibition  in  1889.  He  has  tried  to 
encourage  the  Egyptian  pashas  and  rich  people  to 
follow  his  example  and  the  European  custom  in 
having  but  one  wife.  He  has  also  expressed  his 
hope  that  the  canons  of  the  Moslem  religion  may  be 
so  relaxed  as  to  allow  an  Oriental  woman  to  uncover 
her  face  in  public  without  incurring  odium  or  con- 
tempt. Yet  he  is  very  religiously  inclined,  and 
attends  the  mosque  every  Friday,  the  Moslem 
Sunday,  without  fail.  He  is  always  telling  his 


140 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


people  to  go  to  church,  for  they  are  lax  in  this 
respect  here  as  well  as  in  other  places.  He  has  no 
vices,  and  would  be  a model  member  of  society  in 
any  civilized  community. 

The  poor  Khedive  seems  to  feel  very  keenly  the 
decadence  of  his  country  and  its  fallen  fortunes. 
I never  saw  a man  before  with  such  an  expression 
of  settled  melancholy  on  his  face.  Like  Henry  II., 
he  is  never  known  to  smile.  He  is  the  embodiment 
of  gloom  and  pensiveness.  Yet  he  has  no  ardour 
for  war  and  glory. 

Though  good,  he  is  by  no  means  great.  When 
Arabi  _Pasha,  shortly  after  the  Khedive’s  accession, 
demanded  insolently  and  brutally  the  dismissal  of 
certain  functionaries,  the  Khedive  meekly  promised 
compliance. 

Arabi  was  a rebel  against  the  lawful  authority 
of  which  the  Khedive  was  the  head,  and  his  grand- 
father would  have  cut  him  down  on  the  spot  with 
his  scimitar,  as  Akbar  did  in  India  on  a very  similar 
occasion.  Tewfik  Pasha  did  nothing  of  the  kind, 
but  patiently  submitted  to  the  outrage.  It  was  this 
submission  that  enabled  Arabi  to  concentrate  the 
power  in  his  own  hands,  and  which  subsequently 
led  to  the  invasion  and  conquest  by  the  English, 
if  he  had  shown  firmness  at  first,  he  might  have 
been  prince  of  Egypt  to-day  in  reality  rather  than 
in  appearance. 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


141 


The  Khedive  is  about  forty  years  of  age,  speaks 
French  fluently,  and  English  with  difficulty.  In 
common  with  all  the  Egyptians,  lie  does  not  take  to 
the  English  language  very  readily,  nor  indeed  per- 
haps, also  like  them,  to  the  English  soldiers.  He 
was  educated  at  Paris,  and  is  very  courteous  and 
affable  to  those  whom  he  receives.  But  he  always 
talks  in  such  a grave  and  solemn  manner,  and  with 
such  a sedate  aspect,  that  the  bright  sun  of  Egypt 
penetrating  to  the  audience-chamber  scarce  dispels 
the  gloom  that  appears  to  pervade  both  him  and  his 
surroundings.  One  is  glad  to  leave  the  gorgeous 
palace  and  go  where  the  birds  chatter  and  the  foun- 
tains play  in  the  sunny  streets  of  antique  dirty  Cairo. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  recent  visit  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  the  Khedive  said  to  a friend  of  mine, 
“ Are  you  going  to  the  review  this  afternoon  ? ” 

My  friend  replied  that  he  certainly  was  going. 
“Well,”  continued  the  Khedive,  “you  will  see 
something  curious.  You  will  see  me  on  a horse  for 
the  first  time  in  ten  years.” 

He  looked  that  afternoon  very  much  as  if  he 
would  have  liked  to  stay  at  home.  He  was  unable 
to  manage  his  horse,  though  apparently  a well- 
trained  animal,  and  I think  every  one  was  relieved 
when  the  review  ended  without  a catastrophe. 
There  occurred  at  this  same  review  an  incident 
which,  to  those  nations  who  fondly  hope  that  the 


142 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


English  have  not  come  to  stay,  ought  to  be  very 
significant.  After  the  review  proper  was  over,  the 
Prince  left  the  reviewing  post  and  assumed  com- 
mand of  the  army  in  person.  There  were  only 
three  thousand  Egyptian  and  two  thousand  English 
soldiers  composing  the  force,  and  I am  told  that  the 
Prince  never  did  this  at  home  in  England,  even 
when  there  were  as  many  as  twenty  thousand  or 
twenty-five  thousand  men  under  arms.  Yet  he  did 
it  here,  and  advanced  with  the  army  at  his  heels 
and  saluted  the  Khedive,  who  responded.  For  five 
minutes  only  the  heir  to  the  British  throne  com- 
manded Egyptian  troops,  and  the  Egyptian  prince 
was  present  and  permitted  it  to  be  done  without 
remonstrances.  Five  minutes  is  not  very  long,  but 
it  is  enough  to  an  outsider  to  establish  the  legitimacy 
of  the  English  control  over  Egypt.  To  my  mind, 
if  they  are  going  to  keep  India,  they  must  also 
possess  Egypt.  Egypt  is  not  so  valuable,  but  it  is 
quite  essential  to  the  preservation  of  India. 

Few  people  know  how  much  good  the  English 
get  out  of  India.  One  has  to  go  there,  travel,  and 
study  the  statistics  of  the  trade  between  the  two 
countries.  There  are  two  hundred  and  fifty  million 
people  in  India,  and  they  all  labour  for  the  benefit 
of  the  thirty  million  English  in  Britain.  The 
innumerable  millions  of  India  buy  everything  they 
need  of  England  ; countless  yards  of  cloth  stuffs, 


EGYPTIAN  TROOPS.  To  face  page  142. 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


M3 

furniture,  liquors,  etc.  They  send  in  return  teas 
and  coffees  which  England  could  get  nowhere  else 
in  such  quantities  and  so  cheap. 

India  is  the  dumping  ground  of  all  the  surplus 
manufactures  of  England,  and  with  such  an  immense 
population  everything  is  sold  some  time  or  another. 
Therefore  the  people  in  India  are  all  poor  and  Eng- 
land is  very  rich. 

I do  not  know  that  this  makes  very  much  differ- 
ence to  India,  for  they  have  always  been  so,  but  it 
makes  a very  great  difference  to  the  English  nation. 

I should  certainly  advise  the  English,  looking  at 
it  from  my  point  of  view,  never  to  give  up  India, 
especially  as  it  costs  them  nothing. 

It  would  certainly  be  very  difficult — in  fact,  quite 
impossible — to  hold  India  with  Egypt  in  the  hands  of 
a hostile  power.  Before  the  days  of  steam  and  the 
Suez  Canal,  every  one  had  to  go  round  by  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  so  that  all  nations  were  on  an  equal 
footing.  But  now  steam  and  the  Canal  bring  the  East 
and  the  West  into  close  communion.  If  the  Canal 
were  shut  to  English  and  opened  to  hostile  vessels, 
what  might  not  happen  ? The  first  would  have  to  go 
round  by  Southern  Africa,  and  make  a voyage  under 
steam  of  six  weeks  or  two  months,  while  the  latter 
could  bombard  Bombay  in  two  weeks  after  leaving 
Suez.  The  Indian  ports  are  not  strongly  fortified, 
and  the  coast  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  foe. 


144 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


The  Hindoos  will  rest  quiet  just  as  long  as  England 
grants  and  affords  them  peace  and  protection.  But 
if  she  fails  to  do  either,  will  they  still  work  on  un- 
complainingly and  unceasingly  ? 

There  are  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  Eng- 
lish and  two  hundred  and  fifty  million  other  human 
beings  in  India.  Will  the  two  hundred  and  fifty 
million  remain  content  under  the  dominion  of  the 
one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand,  if  it  takes  two 
months  for  them  to  secure  assistance,  while  in  the 
mean  time  their  seaport  towns  are  bombarded,  burnt, 
and  destroyed  ? The  patience  of  Hindoos  might 
endure,  but  that  of  Christian  nations  would  not,  in 
such  a state  of  affairs. 

The  Canal  is  under  international  law,  but  the  con- 
tingency of  a war  must  be  discounted,  and  the  fact 
that  such  a risk  exists  ought  to  justify  the  English, 
now  that  they  are  in  Egypt,  in  staying  there.  For 
a small  force  on  land  could  render  the  Canal  impass- 
able, even  if  Port  Said,  Ismailia,  and  Suez  were  in  the 
bands  of  friendly  garrisons. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  it  is  a very  narrow 
body  of  water,  running  ninety  miles  through  a track- 
less desert,  with  no  towns  or  villages  along  its  banks 
except  at  either  end  and  midway.  It  is,  moreover, 
only  about  a hundred  miles  from  Cairo  and  Alex- 
andria. One’s  ideas  of  Egypt’s  dimensions  are  prone 
to  amplify  its  actual  territory.  There  is  no  country 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


T45 


that  has  so  much  renown  and  so  great  a history 
which  is  confined  within  such  a narrow  sphere  as  is 
the  Delta  ; and  there  is  no  other  country  that  has  so 
important  a position  on  the  world’s  surface,  for  it  is 
half-way  between  the  Orient  and  the  Occident.  It 
has  always  been  esteemed  important  from  the  earliest 
days,  and  will  be  so  in  a much  greater  degree  in  the 
future.  For  it  is  only  now,  since  Alexander’s  time, 
that  the  countless  multitudes  of  China  and  Asia  are 
meeting  face  to  face  the  scarcely  less  numerous 
peoples  of  Europe.  In  past  ages  far  Cathay  and  the 
population  thereof  have  been  materials  only  for  the 
poets ; in  the  future  they  will  be  a positive  reality 
for  statesmen  and  warriors  to  reckon  with.  The 
lone  lethargic  isolation  of  the  far  East  from  the  rest 

O O 

of  the  world  is  at  an  end.  Either  they  will  come  to 
us  or  we  shall  go  to  them.  The  earth  is  too  small 
for  great  bodies  of  peoples  to  live  in  ignorance  of 
or  without  relations  with  other  races.  The  whole 
inhabitable  surface  of  the  globe  is  known,  except 
Central  Africa,  and  Stanley  is  fast  completing  the 
marvellous  task  of  giving  to  civilization  a new  world. 
Unknown  races  can  never  again  come  from  unknown 
regions  and  devastate  the  cultivated  lands.  No 
Marius  will  ever  be  needed,  for  there  will  be  no 
Cimbri  nor  Teutons  of  harsh  aspect  to  pour  down  on 
peaceful  valleys,  clad  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts. 
The  exploits  of  Alaric  and  Attila  will  never  be 


146 


EGYPT! A 7V  SKETCHES. 


repeated.  Nor  can  a future  Tamerlane  gather 
myriads  of  men  and  spring  into  a semi-civilized 
world  like  a tiger  into  the  arena. 

If  one  might  stop  to  think  a little  it  could  well  be 
said  that  it  has  taken  us  humans  all  the  centuries 
from  Menes,  the  first  King  of  Egypt  and  the  world, 
until  now  to  know  fully  the  globe  given  to  us  as  a 
residence  by  Providence.  For  it  is  within  the  past 
fifty  years  that  we  have  fairly  well  explored  every 
part.  Until  lately  Africa,  Australia,  and  the  South 
Sea  Archipelago  were  still  unknown  and  unmapped. 
That  has  been  done,  not  so  thoroughly  as  it  will 
be  in  the  future,  but  sufficiently  well  to  leave  us 
no  longer  in  doubt  as  to  what  might  be  found. 
With  the  better  knowledge  of  our  own  houses  and 
grounds  comes  also  the  knowledge  of  those  of  our 
neighbours.  Thus  it  is  true  that  for  the  first  time 
in  the  records  of  history  we  know  each  other  from 
end  to  end  of  the  sphere.  It  is  also  true  that  we 
can  now  call  upon  each  other  without  taking  a whole 
year.  Europe  will  have  to  consider  in  the  imme- 
diate future  others  besides  those  who  live  on  its  soil. 
I think  it  was  Talleyrand  who  said  that  the  day 
when  America  appeared  in  the  affairs  of  Europe,  it 
would  be  good-bye  to  peace  for  many  a year. 

I do  not  think  we  are  more  bloodthirsty  or  war- 
like than  the  peoples  of  Europe  myself.  We  have 
many  weak  neighbours,  but  instead  of  absorbing  we 


THE  ENGLISH  IN  EGYPT. 


147 


protect  them.  Europe  is  divided  into  several  camps, 
each  camp  being  a powerful  nation.  All  the  smaller 
nations  have  been  eaten  up,  and  those  left,  such  as 
Holland  and  Belgium,  will  very  likely  disappear 
after  the  war  for  which  we  all  wait,  wondering  why 
it  does  not  come.  Therefore,  since  the  world  has 
grown  smaller  with  our  increased  knowledge,  we 
must  reckon  more  directly  with  each  other  in  all 
future  contingencies.  Nations  like  the  Egyptian,  the 
only  remains  of  the  really  old  world  left,  cannot  exist 
independently.  The  country  is  not  sufficiently  large; 
there  are  not  enough  people.  Except  in  religion, 
they  belong  to  no  race  on  the  earth.  They  are  of 
the  Past,  not  of  the  Present. 


148 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HAN1M. 

Living  in  Cairo  was  a young  American  named 
Carleton.  He  had  taken  a house  in  the  native 
quarter  of  the  town.  One  Saturday  evening  he 
invited  some  of  us  to  his  place.  It  was  situated  in 
a pleasant  garden,  with  a fountain  playing  in  front, 
and  a vista  of  palm  trees  and  ruined  mosques  in  the 
background.  The  building  was  a stone  structure 
of  one  story,  with  a dozen  rooms.  He  had  three 
servants,  all  Arabs.  His  first  cook  had  been  a 
Greek.  In  ten  days  Carleton  discovered  that  of 
the  money  he  gave  him  every  morning  to  go  to 
the  market  and  buy  meat  and  vegetables  with,  the 
modern  Aristides  kept  half.  The  worst  of  it  was 
that  after  he  had  sent  him  away,  the  milkman, 
vegetable-man,  and  ice-mari  came  to  Carleton  and 
said  that  the  Greek  had  not  paid  them  a piastre 
after  the  first  day. 

“ Why  did  you  trust  him  ? ” asked  Carleton. 

“ Oh,  he  said  that  you  would  only  give  him 


HANIM. 


149 


money  every  two  weeks  to  pay  the  bills.  And  we 
knew  that  you  were  an  American,  and  therefore 
very  rich,  so  we  were  glad  to  wait.” 

Carleton,  for  the  honour  of  the  “Americans,  all 
very  rich,”  felt  he  had  to  pay  these  little  accounts. 
But  even  then  he  had  not  heard  the  last  of  the 
rascally  fellow.  Aristides  actually  went  to  the 
Greek  consul  and  laid  a complaint  against  Carleton 
for  the  balance  of  the  month’s  wages.  The  Greek 
consul  sent  a note  to  the  American  consul,  and  he, 
as  in  duty  bound,  forwarded  a copy  of  the  com- 
plaint to  Carleton.  The  latter,  on  inquiry,  found 
that  the  case,  if  tried,  would  come  up  before  the 
Mixed  Court,  and  that  it  would  cost  him  in  fees 
for  lawyers,  who  are  as  great  harpies  in  the  Orient 
as  in  the  Occident,  about  a hundred  dollars.  The 
Greek  had  very  likely  found  some  legal  wretch  to 
prosecute  the  claim  for  half  the  possible  proceeds. 
They  thought  that  Carleton  would  submit  to  the 
twenty-five  dollars  demanded  by  the  Greek  rather 
than  pay  one  hundred  dollars  in  court  expenses. 
However,  he  did  no  such  thing.  He  knew  that  if 
he  should  have  him  arrested  for  robbery,  that  being 
a criminal  offence,  the  trial  would  come  off  before 
the  Greek  consul  sitting  alone  as  judge,  and  the 
latter  would  not  be  too  severe  where  his  own  coun- 
tryman was  concerned  against  a foreigner.  Never- 
theless Carleton  wrote  a note  to  the  American  consul 


ijo  EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 

refusing  to  pay  a cent,  stating  he  was  ready  to 
go  to  court,  no  matter  at  what  cost,  adding  that 
if  he  was  sued  civilly  he  would  prosecute  the  Greek 
criminally,  even  before  the  Greek  consul.  He  also 
wrote  that  his  other  servants  had  every  morning 
seen  him  give  money  to  Aristides,  who  daily  ren- 
dered him  a statement  of  his  disbursements,  which 
he  would  prove  untrue ; and,  finally,  that  all  the 
men  whom  Aristides  had  left  unpaid  were  ready  to 
go  into  court  and  testify.  The  American  consul 
sent  a copy  of  this  to  the  Greek  consul,  and  nothing 
more  was  done.  Only  a few  weeks  after,  this  same 
poor  devil  of  a Greek  came  into  Carleton’s  salon 
and  actually  begged  for  alms.  It  appeared  that  his 
escapade  had  got  known  in  the  town.  All  the  Arab 
cooks,  who  are  jealous  of  the  Levantines,  combined 
and  boycotted  him.  It  was  not  that  he  stole,  for 
they  all  do  that ; but  he  stole  in  such  a clumsy 
manner  that  they  despised  him.  And  then  to 
go  afterwards  to  his  consul ! That  was  even  too 
much  for  Arab  morality.  So,  as  he  was  a good 
cook  and  in  their  way,  for  there  is  not  a first-class 
Arab  cook  in  Egypt,  they  told  the  story  of  the 
American  in  every  place  where  he  looked  for  work, 
and,  of  course,  no  one  would  hire  him.  Carleton 
gave  the  fellow  a good  lecture  and  some  money. 
He  took  the  last,  listened  to  the  first,  and  asked  for 
a certificate  of  good  character,  which  is  commonly 


HANIM. 


151 

given  to  departing  servants.  lie  did  not  get  it,  but 
was  shown  the  door  in  haste. 

In  the  next  two  months  Carleton  had  four  succes- 
sive cooks.  The  first  could  not  open  a pomegranate 
successfully ; the  next  got  drunk  on  mestiche,  and 
was  helplessly  imbecile  just  one  hour  before  the 
time  set  for  a breakfast  to  which  Carleton  had  in- 
vited several  pashas  and  the  consul-general.  Imagine 
his  feelings  ! Where  to  go,  what  to  do  ? He  would 
have  liked  to  crucify  the  barbarian  ; but  Ibrahim 
looked  up  in  a vacant  sort  of  way  when  he  was  told 
to  leave  the  mansion,  said  Tay-eb  (all  right),  went 
out,  and  laid  himself  down  peacefully  to  sleep  in  the 
very  shadow  of  the  fountain,  so  that  every  one 
coming  in  had  almost  to  step  over  his  slumbering 
form,  redolent  with  odours  not  of  “ Araby  the 
Blest.” 

Happily  for  all  concerned,  Carleton  did  not  know 
of  this  agreeable  episode  until  it  was  over.  Luckily 
also,  one  of  the  other  servants  was  something  of  a 
cook,  and  he  called  in  to  his  aid  the  cook  of  some 
English  officers  who  messed  together  just  across  the 
street.  Every  one  worked  hard  and  faithfully,  so 
when  the  guests  came  the  breakfast  went  off  in 
fairly  good  shape.  Ibrahim’s  invaluable  services 
were  dispensed  with,  and  he  went  away  grumbling 
at  the  Americans  who  got  mad  and  discharged  their 
servants  for  such  “ very  little  things.”  His  third 


r52 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


cook  he  found  was  stealing  ; not  very  much,  it  was 
true,  for  he  did  not  get  the  chance,  but  still  he 
filched  a few  piastres  every  morning  from  the 
marketing.  His  fourth  was  tolerable,  and  at  last 
our  host  thought  he  was  free  from  care ; but  one 

fine  morning  a letter  came  from  Lord  E , who 

was  going  up  the  Nile.  Having  had  this  cook 
before,  he  wanted  him  again.  So,  as  the  servants 
who  go  up  the  Nile  get  double  pay  and  several 
months’  steady  work,  off  he  went,  taking  with  him 
the  waiter,  Carleton’s  best  servant.  By  this  time 
the  latter  did  not  know  what  to  do.  He  thought 
seriously  of  throwing  up  his  lease,  giving  up  his 
fond  ideas  of  studying  Egyptian  life  in  its  home 
surroundings,  and  going  to  the  Club  to  live.  More- 
over, he  bad  a bad  name.  So  many  cooks  had  come 
and  gone  from  his  house,  that  the  Arabs  began  to 
think  him  a hard  case.  It  must  be  his  fault  when 
no  one  stayed.  That  he  should  send  a cook  away 
because  he  got  drunk  once  in  a while,  or  abstracted 
a few  miserable  piastres  occasionally,  was  something 
too  sordid  for  their  lofty  minds.  lie  was  told  that 
the  sheikh  of  the  guild  of  cooks  had  bad  bis  atten- 
tion called  to  bis  transgressions.  He  would  be 
given  one  more  trial,  and  if  then  be  did  not  amend, 
why,  possibly  the  sheikh  would  issue  a firman  com- 
manding all  patriotic  Egyptian  cooks  sternly  to 
avoid  the  lawless  American,  and  let  him  prepare  his 


HANIM. 


x53 


own  food.  However,  he  had  a bright  Arab  in  his 
service  named  Hassan,  who  was  the  waiter.  He 
told  all  to  Hassan,  and  asked  him  to  find  a cook,  one 
of  his  own  friends  if  it  were  at  all  possible.  If  not, 
Carleton  declared  he  would  leave,  for  he  would  not 
brook  the  sheikh’s  intermeddling. 

Hassan  had  his  own  place  to  preserve.  He  pro- 
mised to  do  his  best.  For  two  days  Carleton  ate 
at  the  Kliedivial  Club,  while  Hassan  went  into 
the  country.  Thence  he  returned  with  one  Ismayin, 
a tall,  lanky,  frowsy  fellah  from  one  of  the  Nile 
villages.  He  had  been  in  a French  mansion  at 
Cairo  for  about  a year,  and  spoke  a strange  mixture 
of  French  and  Arabic,  but  not  a word  of  English. 
They  had  to  lock  up  all  the  liquors,  for  he  would 
get  drunk  every  time  that  he  had  the  chance,  and 
when  he  went  away  in  the  evening  they  were  never 
sure  that  he  would  come  back.  So  they  gave  him 
an  old  blanket  and  made  him  sleep  under  a man- 
darin tree  in  the  garden.  The  Cairo  cooks  always 
sleep  in  their  own  houses,  never  where  they  work. 

On  the  other  hand,  Ismayin  had  the  elements 
of  a good  cook.  He  was  docile,  quick  to  learn,  and 
very  cleanly  in  the  kitchen.  In  a little  while  he 
could  furnish  a very  fair  dinner,  and  as  he  did  not 
know  the  Cairo  brotherhood,  Carleton  was  free  from 
the  wiles  of  those  freebooters.  Henceforward  he 
was  more  at  his  ease,  and  could  invite  his  friends 


i54 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


both  native  and  foreign,  without  serious  misgiv- 
ings as  to  what  might  happen  in  the  kitchen  and 
dining-room. 

On  this  Saturday  night,  he  had  assembled  about  a 
dozen  persons,  of  whom  four  were  native  officers  in 
the  Egyptian  military  and  civil  service,  one  of  them 
being  a full-blooded  Turk  from  Constantinople.  The 
others  included  all  the  Americans  then  in  Cairo,  and 
a couple  of  Englishmen. 

We  were  invited  to  see  a dance  performed  by  the 
Ghawazee,  or  professional  female  dancers.  These  are 
not  to  be  confounded  with  the  Almees.  The  latter 
may  be  married,  and  very  often  mingle  other  avoca- 
tions with  dancing.  But  the  Ghawazee,  who  are 
raised  in  Upper  Egypt,  though  a few  come  from  Syria, 
are  trained  from  birth.  Their  limbs  and  bodies,  from 
constant  attention  and  practice,  are  as  supple  and 
flexible  as  those  of  an  American  acrobat.  They  are 
selected  for  their  beauty  of  face  and  figure,  and  if 
their  girlhood  years  do  not  in  this  regard  fulfil  the 
promises  of  childhood,  they  are  at  once  discarded. 
After  the  age  of  twenty  or  twenty-two,  they  quit 
the  profession,  for  from  that  period  the  body  does 
not  appear  to  possess  the  same  lightness  and  agility. 

It  is  odd  to  say,  but  this  class  of  professional 
dancers,  the  Ghawazee,  who  always  uncover  their 
faces,  and  a goodly  part  of  their  bodies  to  the  unholy 
gaze  of  their  auditors,  are  some  of  the  most  re- 


A DAUGHTER  OF  EGYPT. 


To  face  page  154. 


HANIM. 


155 


spectable  women  in  Egypt.  Their  work  makes 
very  severe  demands  upon  their  strength,  so  that 
they  cannot  afford  to  give  way  to  any  phase  of 
wanton  living,  but  are  compelled  to  restrict  them- 
selves to  a regime  of  almost  athletic  training.  These 
pretty  and  good  dancers  are  highly  paid,  and 
take  a pride  in  doing  their  part  well.  It  cost 
Carleton  seventy-five  dollars  for  four  dancers  and  two 
old  women,  who  played,  one  upon  a narrow  drum, 
using  the  palms  of  her  hands  as  drum-sticks,  and 
the  other  on  a kind  of  banjo.  Within  the  tombs  of 
Beni-Hassan  are  sculptured  on  the  walls  women  who 
dance  and  sing  to  the  music  of  instruments  very 
much  like  those  used  to-day  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  modern  Egyptian  Nile  Grhawazee,  if  she  has 
been  pretty  and  skilful,  retires  soon  after  she  is 
twenty  with  a full  purse,  marries,  and  settles  down. 
She  is  gladly  welcomed  by  her  society,  and  sets 
a good  example  for  all  young  girls  who  are  inclined 
to  languish  for  the  possession  of  a nice  red  fez  or 
clean  white  turban.  Yet  those  we  saw  that  night 
had  some  curious  ways.  They  never  were  without 
a cigarette  in  their  mouths,  and  they  drank  fearful 
quantities  of  sweet  sherbet  and  cheap  cognac.  In 
the  intervals  of  dancing  they  seated  themselves 
around  the  old  women,  who  crooned  a weird,  melan- 
choly Arab  tale  of  love  and  death.  During  these 
interludes  the  girls,  ranging  from  fifteen  to  nineteen, 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


*56 

ate  lentils,  candied  cakes,  and  drank  coffee.  The 
little  wretches  seemed  to  have  insatiable  appetites 
for  eating  and  drinking,  and  they  smoked  during 
the  entertainment,  which  lasted  far  into  the  night, 
two  boxes  of  cigarettes  holding  one  hundred  each. 

They  were  dressed  in  brilliant  costumes  of  trans- 
parent gauze  spangled  with  gold.  The  collars  and 
head-dress  were  intermingled  with  red  corals  and 
small  gold  coins  threaded  together.  Just  below  the 
bosom  the  uncovered  body  was  embraced  by  a 
golden  girdle,  two  inches  wide,  set  with  emeralds, 
turquoises,  rubies,  and  diamonds.  Immediately 
above  the  waist,  the  skirt  was  held  in  place  by  a 
similar  golden  and  jewelled  belt,  leaving  bare  that 
portion  of  the  form  between  the  two  circlets.  Their 
eyelids  were  darkened  with  kohl,  and  the  finger 
and  toe  nails  reddened  with  henna.  For  they  dance 
with  bare  feet,  and  their  lovely  little  ankles  were 
musical  with  bangles  of  gold  and  silver  to  the 
number  of  at  least  a dozen,  including  several  made 
in  the  shape  of  a Nile  serpent. 

The  dances  took  place  in  the  centre  of  the 
apartment,  where  was  specially  placed  a soft  Persian 
carpet.  The  Ghawazee  very  seldom  dance  more 
than  one  at  a time.  Nor  is  the  movement  in  any 
sense  approaching  our  home  dances,  even  on  the 
minstrel  stage.  The  Oriental  is  in  his  amusements, 
as  in  his  life,  voluptuous  and  lymphatic.  He  does  not 


HANIM. 


*57 


want,  anything  that  will  tend  to  excite  him  to 
emulation  or  activity  of  the  mind  or  body.  He  is 
a dreamer,  and  his  pleasures  must  be  only  waking 
dreams.  The  wavy,  willowy  movement  of  the 
gauzy,  golden,  flesh-hued  figure  before  him,  flashing 
with  light  and  colour  and  passion,  enthrals  his 
senses.  The  little  feet  sunk  in  the  fruit  of  Teheran’s 
looms  move  slowly,  noiselessly  by,  while  the  lissome 
limbs  and  a slender  form  glowing  with  life  undulate 
to  the  melody  of  Pharaonic  songs. 

The  best  dance  of  the  evening,  by  the  best  dancer, 
lasted  half  an  hour ; yet  she  did  not  lift  her  feet 
from  the  carpet,  nor  did  she  move  out  of  a space 
a yard  wide.  Amina  fascinated  us  all  by  the 
langorous  motions  of  her  body,  the  serpentine  grace 
of  her  movements,  and  her  moist  almond  eyes,  reveal- 
ing that  she  was  a marvel  of  passionate  chastity  and 
pride.  After  a while  she  gave  us  a new  dance.  A 
tiny  glass  of  sherbet,  flecked  with  pomegranate,  was 
placed  in  the  middle  of  the  carpet.  The  Grhawazee 
keeping  accord,  in  the  sinuous  motions  of  her  lithe 
form,  to  the  rhythm  of  the  music,  but  never  stirring 
her  feet,  gradually  lowered  her  body  until  her  lips 
approached  the  delicious  draught.  Then,  without 
touching  the  carpet  or  the  sherbet  with  her  hands, 
she  took  the  little  glass  between  her  lips,  drank  the 
liquid,  and  replaced  the  empty  vessel  upright  on 
the  carpet.  It  was  done  so  daintily,  so  roguishly, 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


158 

with  such  spirit  and  dexterity,  that  we  were  all 
delighted.  Later  on  came  the  sword  dance,  which 
by  no  means  equalled  in  interest  or  pleasure  the 
sherbet  dance.  A pair  of  drawn  scimitars  was 
simply  placed  crosswise  on  the  rug,  and  the  dancers, 
two  in  number,  interlaced  arms  and,  waving  with 
their  free  hands  scarlet  silken  handkerchiefs,  lightly 
tripped  between  the  weapons.  It  is  a graceful,  but 
by  no  means  dangerous,  feat  ; for,  though  the 
scimitars  have  bright  surfaces,  the  distance  between 
them  is  ample,  and  the  Ghawazee’s  unsandaled  feet 
are  small. 

Seated  on  a divan  in  a corner  of  the  room  were 
several  female  figures  carefully  veiled.  Their  dresses 
were  covered  with  the  silken  habbarah,  closely 
enveloping  them  from  head  to  foot,  and  their 
faces  veiled  by  the  yashmak  with  its  ivory  sup- 
port pendant  from  the  forehead,  leaving  nothing 
visible  save  large  brilliant  black  eyes  and  neatly 
gloved  hands.  We  had  been  told  that  there  would 
be  some  Egyptian  ladies  present,  and  were  asked 
not  to  address  them,  with  which  request,  of  course, 
we  complied.  They  sat  out  the  whole  of  the  enter- 
tainment, speechless,  motionless,  like  so  many  statues 
of  Ilathor,  except  that  they  did  not  refuse  cham- 
pagne when  offered  them  by  the  attendants.  Being 
men,  of  course  we  were  dying  to  know  who  and 
what  they  were,  and  how  they  came  to  be  there ; 


HANIM. 


*59 


for  it  is  very  rare  indeed  that  Egyptian  women  are 
present  at  a dance  of  the  Ghawazee  at  the  same 
time  as  the  other  sex.  At  a breakfast  given  to 
Carleton  a day  or  two  afterwards  by  some  of  us,  lie, 
in  response  to  our  insistent  questions,  told  us  a 
strange  tale.  He  said  shortly  after  he  had  taken 
his  house  he  invited  to  breakfast  with  him  one 
morning  Ali  Ifadaar,  an  Arab  officer,  to  whom  he 
was  indebted  for  some  slight  courtesies.  They  were 
quite  alone,  and  while  drinking  the  coffee,  Ali  said 
to  him,  “ Are  you  married  ? ” 

“ No,”  was  Carleton’s  surprised  response. 

“ Will  you  stay  in  Cairo  many  months  ? ” con- 
tinued the  Arab. 

“ Well,”  Carleton  replied,  “ that  depends.  I think, 
however,  that  I shall  be  here  several  months — 
perhaps  a year.” 

“ Why,  then,  don’t  you  take  a pretty  Egyptian 
or  two  while  you  are  here  ? ” 

This  question  rather  embarrassed  Carleton.  “ Well, 
you  must  know,”  he  said,  “ that  we  never  do  those 
things — at  least,  not  publicly — in  America.  Even 
unmarried  men  must  respect  the  opinion  of  the 
world.  Besides,  my  friends,  including  English  and 
American  ladies,  have,  with  their  husbands  and 
fathers,  visited  and  breakfasted  with  me.  So,  you 
see,  it  would  not  be  at  all  right,  you  know.” 

“ Ah  ! ” said  Ali,  quickly,  and  with  a slight  move- 


i6o 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


ment  of  impatience,  “ 1 don’t  think  you  quite  fully 
understand  me.  I have  been  educated  in  Paris,  and 
I know  very  well  what  you  mean.  But  that  is  not 
what  I mean.  Here  ideas  and  customs  are  entirely 
different ; and  you  must  remember  that  you  are  now 
in  Egypt.” 

“ Please  explain,”  said  Carleton. 

“ Well,”  said  Ali,  “ you  know  by  the  Moslem  law 
a man  can  have  four  wives.  He  can  also  divorce 
them  when  he  pleases,  and  send  them  back  to  their 
fathers,  merely  returning  the  dowry  that  he  received. 
It  sometimes  happens  that  a rich  Moslem  does  this 
pretty  often,  and  the  father  knows,  when  his  daughter 
marries  such  a man,  that  he  will  very  likely  have 
to  receive  her  back  in  two  or  three  months,  without 
any  fault  of  hers.” 

“ But  what  have  we  to  do  with  all  this  ? ” cried 
the  anxious  American. 

“ Wait  a moment,  and  I will  presently  explain, ' 
replied  Ali.  “ It  has  happened  that  in  the  war  with 
the  English  and  in  the  Soudan,  a good  many  soldiers 
have  died,  more,  however,  from  disease  than  in 
battle.  At  Suakim  hundreds,  and  especially  those 
from  Cairo,  have  been  carried  off  in  the  last  three 
or  four  years.  This  has  left  many  fatherless  families 
here,  some  of  whom  are  of  good  position.  The 
mothers,  recognizing  the  Moslem  law  that  I have 
described,  and  also,  it  is  true,  pressed  by  necessity, 


HANIM. 


161 


will  permit  a marriage  between  their  (laughters  and 
a foreigner  whose  social  standing  is  undoubted. 
Therefore,  if  you  are  willing  to  go  before  the  cadi, 
or  native  judge,  and  give  a written  promise  that 
you  will  not  send  away  your  wife  before  at  least 
three  months,  it  will  be  regarded  as  a sort  of 
qualified  marriage,  and  there  will  be  no  trouble  in 
securing  you  one  of  the  beauties  of  El-Kahira.” 

“ But,”  said  Carleton,  “ what  difference  does  it 
make  whether  I am  or  am  not  married  ? Yet  you 
asked  me  that  question.” 

“ Ah  ! yes,”  said  Ali  quickly,  “ it  makes  just  this 
difference.  If  you  were  married  nothing  of  the  kind 
could  occur.  We  know  that  in  your  country  a man 
can  have  but  one  wife,  and  that  another  would  not 
be  lawful.  So  no  Moslem  family  would  permit  any 
of  their  women  to  be  allied  to  a foreigner  who  has  a 
wife  at  home.  We  follow  our  own  custom,  but  we 
respect  yours  also,  and  were  you  married  I should 
never  have  spoken.” 

“ Well,”  said  one  of  us,  as  Carleton  stopped,  “ what 
did  you  do  ? Adopt  his  suggestion  ? And  is  that 
the  explanation  of  the  veiled  ladies  at  your  house  ? 
But  in  that  case  you  must  have  allied  yourself  to 
all  Cairo,  for  we  saw  at  least  a dozen  pair  of  Hathor 
eyes  lustrous  with  kohl.” 

We  all  laughed,  and  Carleton  also.  Presently  he 
resumed — • 


M 


162 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


“ After  thinking  the  matter  over,  and  remember- 
ing the  proposition  came  from  Ali  and  that  it  was 
in  Egypt,  I requested  to  be  permitted  to  see  the 
lady,  for  I felt  sure  he  had  some  particular  one  in 
view.  But  I was  told  that  this  could  not  be  allowed 
until  after  the  documents  had  been  signed  before  the 
cadi.  However,  I refused  pointblank  to  do  any- 
thing more  until  I had  an  interview  with  her.  After 
some  delay  and  hesitation  that  point  of  Moslem 
etiquette  was  waived,  and  we  met  in  the  presence  of 
her  mother  and  sister,  all  wearing  the  yashmak.  She 
presently  raised  her  veil  and  disclosed  the  face  of  a 
very  pretty  girl,  rather  young,  who  looked  at  me 
with  half-fearful  glances,  as  if  I were  a Bashi-Bazouk. 
She  was  over  the  medium  height,  with  dark -brown 
hair  and  eyes,  and  a complexion  much  fairer  than 
most  Egyptian  girls.  I afterwards  knew  that  her 
father  was  a Turk  who  had  been  killed  at  Tel-el- 
Kebir  six  years  before.  I asked  her  through  my 
servant,  for  Ali  could  not  see  her  unveiled,  if  she 
was  quite  willing  to  do  what  was  proposed.  She 
said  at  once  aloud,  ‘ Yes,’  but  added  that  she  would 
like  to  have  her  mother  and  sister  stay  with  her, 
at  least  for  a while.  So  in  two  or  three  days, 
everything  being  arranged,  the  whole  family 
were  transported  to  my  house.  They  brought 
one  servant,  a Soudanese  girl.  Hanim  and  her 
mother  and  sister  always  dine  alone  and  without 


IOC 


HANIM. 


To  face  page  162. 


HANIM. 


163 


knives  and  forks.  I have  several  times  tried  to  get 
her  to  eat  with  me,  but  she  makes  such  a mess  with 
the  knife  and  fork  that  we  have  almost  given  it  up. 
Sometimes  I cut  the  meat  as  if  she  were  a little  child, 
and  then  she  eats  it,  laughing  like  a happy  spirit  all 
the  time.  She  seems  quite  contented,  and  her  only 
fear  is  that  I may  ask  her  mother  and  sister  to 
leave.” 

“ How  do  you  manage  to  get  on  without  speaking 
to  her,  for  you  don’t  understand  Arabic  ? ” I asked. 

“ When  we  have  something  special  to  say  we  use 
as  interpreter  one  of  the  servants  who  is  very 
intelligent.  It  is  marvellous,  however,  how  easy  it 
is  to  understand  each  other  by  pantomime  and  a few 
words  of  Arabic  that  she  has  taught  me.  Their 
ways,  however,  are  so  odd.  You  know  that  my 
house  is  an  old  Turkish  mansion,  with  apartments 
specially  built  for  the  harem.  That  is  separated 
from  the  rest  of  the  house.  All  day  long  pretty 
Hanim  stays  in  those  rooms,  never  thinking  of  going 
into  any  other  part  of  the  house.  Her  mother  and 
sister,  always  carefully  veiled,  come  and  go  every 
day.  Her  cousins,  of  whom  she  has  a legion,  visit 
her  almost  daily,  so  she  has  plenty  of  company.” 

“ Does  she  never  go  out  ? ” asked  the  consul. 

“ About  once  a week  she  comes  to  me  and  asks  per- 
mission to  drive  out  for  two  or  three  hours  with  her 
mother  and  sister.  I have  told  her  that  she  could 


164 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


go  out  every  day  if  she  wished,  but  she  seemed 
horrified  at  the  thought.  Think  of  our  home  girls 
refusing  to  go  shopping ! But  don’t  forget  that  they 
are  like  other  women.  Her  relatives  bring  stuffs 
and  silks  with  them  from  which  to  select  if  she 
wishes,  and  pedlars  come  very  often  and  are  always 
admitted.  All  day  long  the  women  sit  in  the  harem, 
talking  and  smoking  cigarettes.” 

“ For  Heaven’s  sake,  your  pretty  Hanim  doesn’t 
smoke  ? ” 

“ I am  sorry  to  say  that  she  does.  Before  she 
came  she  had  never  done  so,  but  it  is  one  of  the  first 
privileges  that  a girl  has  when  she  becomes  a bride. 
Her  sister  doesn’t  smoke  yet ; and,  by  the  way,  I 
must  tell  you,  now  that  I am  about  it,  a talk  that  I 
had  with  Hanim  the  other  morning.  I had  brought 
her  in  some  jasmines  and  roses  from  the  garden,  for 
which  she  paid  me  with  an  arch  smile  and  thanks. 
She  clapped  her  hands  and  our  interpreter  appeared. 
I could  see  from  her  unusual  colour  that  she  was  very 
agitated.  She  said,  ‘Master’ — that  is  the  name  in 
Arabic  given  by  all  the  women  to  the  head  of  the 
household — ‘Master,  when  are  you  going  to  America?’ 
1 told  her  I did  not  exactly  know,  but  I was  afraid  that 
I could  not  stay  away  very  much  longer.  She  hesi- 
tated a bit  and  then  said,  ‘ Will  you  take  me  with 
you  ? ’ I didn’t  know  what  to  say,  and  as  she  saw  me 
stop,  a sudden  light  came  into  her  soft  eyes,  and  she 


HANIM. 


165 

spoke  eagerly  as  if  afraid  that  I should  not  let  her  go 
on.  ‘ If  Master  would  only  marry  my  sister  too,  and 
take  us  both  with  him  over  the  seas  to  America,  I 
should  be  so  happy.  I have  talked  to  my  sister,  and 
she  is  quite  willing.  My  mother  says  we  can  go 
with  you  on  condition  that  you  bring  us  back  in  two 
years.  I love  you,  and  don’t  want  you  to  leave  me. 
Yet  I am  afraid  to  go  away  all  alone  from  my  family, 
so  if  my  sister  could  go  with  us,  and  I know  she 
loves  you  too,  we  should  be  the  happiest  Egyptian 
girls  in  the  world.’  Just  think  of  me  while  Hassan 
was  slowly  translating  this  frank  proposal,  with 
little  Hanim  looking  down  into  my  soul  with  her 
moist  brown  eyes,  in  her  unconscious  excitement 
crushing  between  her  hands  the  pretty  white  jasmines 
that  I had  just  given  her.” 

We  were  all  too  much  interested  to  laugh  this  time, 
and  I said,  “ It  must  have  taken  the  breath  clean 
out  of  you.  But  honestly,  wasn’t  it  a very  tempting- 
offer  ? You  never  had  the  stamina  to  refuse  point- 
blank,  I am  sure  ? ” 

“ No,”  said  Carleton,  after  a pause  ; “ I couldn’t  do 
that.  In  fact,  I was  so  confused  that  I hardly  know 
what  I did  say.  It  was  a poser,  you  may  be  certain. 
Her  sister’s  name  is  Farida,  and  since  then  she  comes 
into  the  salon  when  I am  talking  to  Hanim  much 
ol'tener  than  before.  She  is  a true  daughter  of  Isis, 
black  hair,  eyes,  and  eyebrows,  erect  as  Rebecca,  and 


i 66 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


looks  as  if  she  could  be  a Medea  when  aroused  by 
jealousy.  Of  course,  it  cannot  well  be,  for  we  do 
not  live  in  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs,  and  America 
is  not  Egypt.” 

What  a pity  everything  in  this  world  must  consist 
of  self-denial  and  restraint ! 


( 167  ) 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

UP  TUE  NILE. 

In  December,  Schuyler  found  it  necessary  to  make 
an  official  visit  up  the  Nile.  We  put  our  heads 
together  and  chartered  the  dahabeeyeh  Vittoria,  with 
a crew  of  fifteen  men  all  told.  We  laid  in  good  store 
of  what  was  said  to  be  necessary  for  a rapid  Nile 
voyage.  After  a farewell  dinner  on  the  Vittoria  to  some 
Cairo  friends,  we  left  the  landing  above  the  bridge 
on  a cold  and  misty  Sunday  morning.  People  may 
think  it  is  never  cold  in  Egypt,  but  if  they  should 
spend  a winter  there  they  will  find  out  how  greatly 
they  err.  In  Cairo,  and  on  the  Nile  especially,  the 
months  of  December  and  January  are  extremely  cold. 
The  living  rooms  of  the  town  are  never  supplied 
with  stoves.  The  Egyptians  gather  together,  and 
cower  over  a small  brazier  filled  with  charcoal,  only 
large  enough  to  warm  the  hands.  Exactly  the  same 
custom  is  found  in  Japan  and  other  Oriental  lands. 
Yet  the  months  of  cold  weather  in  the  year  are  so 
few,  that  in  housebuilding  they  are  completely 


1 68 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


forgotten.  The  only  stove  is  in  the  kitchen,  and 
that  is  simply  a small  range  of  bricks  and  tiles,  on 
the  French  plan,  with  holes  for  pots.  It  is  always 
heated  with  charcoal,  which  gives  but  little  warmth 
and  less  blaze.  It  is  easily  lit,  and  the  fire  dies  out 
very  soon.  Fuel  is  scarce  in  Egypt ; there  are  no 
coal-mines,  and  but  verv  few  trees  around  Cairo.  I 
have  seen  a grove  of  cactus,  thick  and  wide  spread- 
ing, that  was  planted  in  one  of  the  gardens  inside  the 
city  limits,  only  to  be  cut  down  as  firewood.  It  paid 
as  well  as  any  other  product.  One  of  the  novel  sights 
of  the  town,  and  one  to  which  the  traveller  soon 
becomes  used,  is  to  see  little  girls  picking  up  the 
“ buffalo  chips  ” in  the  streets.  These  are  mixed  with 
Nile  mud,  and  spread  out  in  the  sun  in  round  thin 
cakes  to  dry.  The  fuel  thus  prepared  is  sold  every- 
where in  the  poorer  quarters,  like  any  other  com- 
modity. Added  to  a few  pieces  of  palm-tree  wood,  it 
makes  a good  enough  fire  to  bake  the  bread  and  warm 
the  lentils  that  compose  the  principal  food  of  the 
fellaheen. 

On  the  Nile,  where  the  winds,  when  they  blow, 
have  full  sweep,  overcoats  in  the  evening  are  very 
handy,  for,  as  in  the  houses,  no  provision  is  made  for 
warmth  on  the  daliabeeyeh.  The  cook’s  galley  is 
away  forward,  far  away  from  the  dining-room,  and 
the  waiters  have  to  bring  the  dishes  some  distance 
in  the  open  air.  Rain  falls  so  seldom  on  the  Nile, 


UP  THE  NILE. 


169 


that  it  is  never  taken  into  account.  All  the  crew 
of  our  vessel  slept  on  deck  in  the  bows,  near  the 
kitchen.  The  poor  fellows  lay  down,  wrapped 
in  a thin  burnous,  exposed  to  the  cold  chill  winds 
of  the  night,  while  I found  two  heavy  blankets 
on  top  of  me  in  my  berth  not  uncomfortable.  They 
never  wore  shoes,  which  was  an  advantage  in  one 
respect,  for  when  we  grounded  on  a sand-bank  they 
were  not  obliged  to  take  them  off  before  jumping 
into  the  water.  Watch  is  changed  every  hour 
during  the  night,  one  man  at  the  helm,  and  the 
other  at  the  bow.  Dahabeeyehs  are  supposed  to 
sail  during  daylight  only,  but  our  reis,  or  captain, 
never  lost  a favourable  wind.  He  would  arouse  the 
men  from  their  slumbers  at  midnight,  hoist  the  two 
sails,  and  go  on,  if  there  was  any  chance.  For  the 
first  few  days  we  had  no  breeze  at  all,  either  up  or 
down  the  river,  so  the  sailors  went  on  shore  and 
towed  the  boat.  It  was  very  slow  and  exhausting 
work  for  men  whose  food  consisted  of  hard  bread, 
made  of  unsifted  wheat.  This  bread  was  soaked  in 
hot  water,  and  then  mixed  with  cucumbers  and 
lentils  into  a porridge,  which  was  eaten  with  a 
wooden  spoon.  Such,  three  times  daily,  was  their 
sole  nourishment,  except  when  we  gave  them  some 
meat.  Nevertheless,  on  this  food,  with  Nile  water  for 
drink,  they  seem  to  be  quite  hardy  and  capable  of 
working  all  day.  The  absence  of  meat,  however, 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


170 

makes  them  comparatively  thin.  Yery  seldom  does 
one  see  a fat  boatman,  and  their  legs,  perhaps  from 
constant  immersion  in  the  water,  are  thin  and  spare. 
Boys  at  the  age  of  fifteen  are  paid  the  wages  of  full- 
grown  men.  For  though  they  may  not  have  the 
strength  of  a man,  yet  the  agility  with  which  an 
Arab  boy  can  mount  to  the  top  of  a big  lateen  sail, 
furl  and  unfurl  it  a dozen  times  in  the  day  as  the 
river  winds,  is  invaluable  on  a Nile  boat.  The 
men  are  paid  a dollar  and  a half  a month,  with  a 
little  present  of  perhaps  a dollar  at  the  end  of  the 
voyage.  Service  on  a dahabeeyeh  at  this  rate  of 
wage  is  much  sought  after,  and  the  cream  of  Nile 
sailors  are  found  on  these  vessels.  In  the  summer 
and  fall,  when  the  heat  is  dreadful,  they  work  in 
the  date-boats,  bringing  dates  down  the  river  to 
Cairo,  and  are  paid  only  one  dollar  a month.  Most 
of  them  have  families  living  usually  at  little  Nile 
villages,  and  on  this  amount  they  somehow  manage 
to  live. 

The  children  work  in  the  fields  of  their  richer 
neighbours,  and  are  paid  with  a portion  of  the  crop, 
all  of  which  helps  a little.  Very  few  of  the  sailors 
come  from  Cairo.  They  belong  to  Upper  Egypt, 
many  of  them,  in  fact,  from  the  Soudan  or  above 
Luxor,  as  can  be  easily  known  from  their  dusky, 
good-natured  faces,  much  darker  than  the  average 
Cairene.  The  reis  is  usually  the  owner  of  his 


THE  dauabeeyeh.  To  face  page  170. 


UP  THE  NILE. 


I7I 

dahabeeyeh,  either  entirely  or  with  a sleeping  partner. 
He  employs  and  discharges  the  sailors,  having  as 
few  or  many  as  he  wants.  A vessel  is  taken  by 
a foreigner  at  so  much  per  month  for  a minimum 
time,  and  afterwards,  until  the  end,  at  a rate  per 
day  previously  settled.  We  paid  thirteen  dollars 
a day  for  the  Vittoria.  The  first  cost  of  a new 
dahabeeyeh,  with  good  accommodation  for  five  pas- 
sengers, is  about  three  thousand  dollars.  It  con- 
tains, besides  five  sleeping-rooms,  none  of  them 
being  wide  enough  for  two  persons,  bath-rooms, 
salon,  and  a large  dining-room,  with  plenty  of 
lockers  for  clothes,  and  a place  to  put  away  wines 
and  stores.  If  any  heating  apparatus  is  required, 
voyagers  must  see  to  that  themselves  on  leaving 
Cairo,  by  taking  a lamp  or  foot-stove. 

We  bad  with  us,  besides  the  crew,  three  of  our 
own  servants.  One  was  the  cook  ; another  an  Arab, 
whom  I had  employed  in  my  home  at  Cairo,  and 
found  quite  faithful ; and  the  last  the  cavasse  of  the 
Consulate  of  the  United  States.  Suleyman  was 
a character.  He  had  been  in  the  service  of  the 
Government,  under  various  consul-generals,  for  a 
number  of  years,  and  had  been  taken  by  Admiral 
Porter  once  upon  a time  to  Washington.  He 
spoke  English  very  well,  and  had  a most  exalted 
opinion  of  himself  as  representing  America. 
America  in  Egypt  means  the  United  States.  They 


172 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


do  not  appear  to  know  any  other  country  or  people 
beyond  the  Atlantic,  but  all  are  included  in  the 
generic  term  of  America,  not  the  United  States. 

Suleyman  wore  a lovely  costume  of  blue  trousers 
and  loose  jacket,  amply  ornamented  with  gold  em- 
broidery. On  gala  occasions  he  carried  his  gold- 
hilted  scimitar,  sheathed  in  a scabbard  of  like 
appearance,  and  a courbash.  The  courbash,  or 
whip,  was  then  as  necessary  to  Suleyman’s  diplo- 
matic brain  as  his  scimitar,  and  he  was  never  seen 
with  only  one  of  them.  In  sublime  self-confidence 
and  “ cheek  ” he  was  a true  American.  I never 
saw  an  Egyptian  his  equal  in  that  respect,  and 
I fancy  that  it  must  have  been  constant  meeting 
with  our  countrymen  that  inspired  him  with  this 
republican  virtue.  He  had  no  more  hesitation  in 
browbeating  the  post-clerks  in  the  various  little 
villages  on  the  Nile,  than  he  had  in  brandishing 
his  whip  of  rhinoceros  hide  in  the  face  of  the 
ordinary  coachman  at  Cairo,  who  happened  to  be 
in  the  way  of  the  consul’s  carriage.  If  there  was 
no  wind  and  a bad  bit  of  bank  to  pull  over,  ho 
would  disappear,  whip  in  hand,  and  presently  drive 
to  the  shore  half  a dozen  natives  to  help  the  boat- 
men. This  was  one  of  the  things,  among  many 
others,  that  he  would  do,  in  despite  of  our  orders, 
threats,  and  remonstrances.  He  had  just  as  much 
regard  for  truth  as  he  thought  necessary  or  service- 


UP  THE  NILE. 


*73 


able  for  the  time  being  ; and  in  innocent  ignorance 
of  that  which  he  ought  to  know,  he  would  deceive 
the  very  devil. 

Withal  he  was  willing,  good-natured,  like  all 
the  Egyptians,  and  never  sullen.  It  is  an  excellent 
trait  of  their  character  that  no  matter  how  much 
or  how  often  they  are  scolded,  they  come  up  the 
next  morning  bright  and  smiling.  I sometimes 
, think  of  them  only  as  grown-up  children,  for  in 
many  respects  they  act  as  if  their  mental  capacity 
had  never  been  fully  developed. 

We  arrived  at  Beni-Sooef  about  a week  after 
leaving  Cairo.  It  is  a modern  town,  and  possesses 
few  relics  of  antiquity.  Narrow  lanes,  dirty  children, 
numerous  pigeons.  Here  begins  the  raising  of 
pigeons  in  the  Nile  villages  of  Upper  Egypt,  which 
is  so  noticeable  an  industry.  They  are  cared  for 
not  alone  as  food,  but  to  produce  manure  for  the 
fields.  Most  of  the  houses  are  crowned  with  pigeon 
cotes,  and  the  birds  live  in  great  peace  and  comfort 
along  with  the  dogs  and  chickens  that  also  make 
the  house-tops  their  promenade.  The  huts  are  low 
and  of  one  story,  with  flat  roofs,  and  there  is  usually 
a pile  of  garbage  near  enough  to  the  roof  to  enable 
an  intelligent  dog  or  turkey  to  mount  thereon. 

In  the  night  it  is  the  favourite  resting-place  of 
the  dogs,  and  at  first  it  startles  one  to  walk  in  the 
evening  along  a street,  and  suddenly  hear  the  sharp 


i74 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


yelp  of  two  or  three  of  the  wolf-like  creatures  just 
above  one’s  head.  They  have  long  thin  noses,  narrow 
mouths,  with  sharp  fangs,  and  are  only  domesti- 
cated wolves  or  jackals.  Indeed,  wolves  are  to-day 
found  in  the  Libyan  mountains ; and  one  of  the 
largest  towns  on  the  Nile  was  in  ancient  times 
called  Lycopolis,  from  the  numerous  wolves  that 
ravaged  the  land  in  the  vicinity. 

At  Beni-Sooef  we  were  welcomed  by  the  American 
consul,  who  is  a Copt  or  native  Christian.  He  and 
his  fathers  before  him  have  been  our  agents  for 
thirty-two  years,  and  the  family  is  quite  rich. 
He  received  us  in  a large,  roomy,  lumbering  old 
house,  with  white-washed  ceilings  and  sides,  and 
a clay  floor  covered  with  matting.  A pleasant- 
fared,  cheery  old  gentleman,  with  an  immaculate 
white  robe  and  neat  tarbush.  He  invited  us  to 
dinner,  having  at  first  sent  to  the  Vittoria  for  wine. 
Beni-Sooef  had  no  wineshops,  and  the  consul’s  cellar 
was  bereft  of  that  sinful  commodity.  The  dinner 
was  very  good,  with  rice  pilaf,  turkeys,  chicken, 
mutton,  and  several  dishes  of  sweets.  The  dessert 
is  half  the  banquet  in  Egypt.  The  people  are 
inordinately  fond  of  sugared  dates  and  figs.  There 
were  two  kinds  of  pudding,  and  a cake  with  soft 
candy  scattered  through  it,  as  we  have  raisins. 
I wonder  how  their  teeth  are  so  fine  and  white. 

The  banquet  lasted  nearly  three  hours,  and  to  the 


UP  THE  NILE. 


1 75 


end  the  consul-general  and  myself  ate  of  every 
course.  There  were  several  local  notables  present, 
yet,  save  the  mudir,  or  governor,  not  one  of  them, 
including  the  consul,  spoke  any  other  language  than 
Arabic.  One  might  have  supposed  that,  after  repre- 
senting America  for  thirty-two  years,  some  one  of 
the  family  would  have  learned  a little  English,  but 
all  the  consul  and  his  sons  could  say  was  “ Yes  ” 
and  “ No." 

The  American  flag  waved  from  the  roof,  and 
portraits  of  several  Presidents  ornamented  the  prin- 
cipal apartment,  including  a large  medallion  picture 
of  General  Grant,  to  which  his  autograph  was 
attached.  It  will  be  remembered  that  he  visited 
Egypt  and  went  up  the  Nile  to  Luxor  in  187;). 

We  were  presented  to  none  of  the  ladies  of  the 
household,  nor  did  we  see  them.  Though  the  Copts 
are  Christians,  yet,  after  living  on  the  Nile  for 
centuries,  they  have  imbibed  the  ideas  of  their 
neighbours,  the  Moslems,  and  keep  their  women 
quite  as  secluded  as  the  most  fanatical  believer  in 
Mahomet. 

On  our  return  to  the  boat  we  received  a visit 
from  the  mudir.  There  are  six  of  these  district 
governors  in  Upper  Egypt.  The  governor  was 
a very  agreeable  young  man,  dressed  in  European 
costume.  He  was  as  courteous  and  fastidious  in 
actions  and  appearance  as  a Sultan  or  Khedive. 


176  EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 

We  learned  in  the  conversation  which  ensued  that 
he  was  a son  of  Riaz  Pasha,  the  prime  minister.  I 
was  surprised  to  see  him  living  in  such  a spot,  for 
all  these  places  on  the  Nile  are  but  villages,  of 
greater  or  lesser  extent,  peopled  with  illiterate 
fellaheen,  and  there  is  no  opportunity  for  either 
distinction  or  pleasure.  On  my  return  to  Cairo  I 
heard  that  the  young  man  had  been  slightly  impli- 
cated, together  with  several  other  Egyptian  nobles, 
in  a gaming  scandal  at  a private  club  in  Cairo. 
Among  the  number  was  a cousin  of  the  Khedive, 
and  interested  in  the  game  were  several  English 
officers.  It  came  to  the  ears  of  the  Government 
through  English  official  information,  and  the  Khe- 
dive, who  was  furious,  banished  them  all  from  Cairo 
to  various  places  in  Europe  and  Egypt.  It  was  not 
a case  of  “ spoiling  the  Egyptian,”  but  the  reverse. 
Yet  it  was  hardly  that  either.  For  though  the 
Egyptians  won,  they  were  punished  and  not  paid. 

I cannot  say  that  the  English  refused  to  pay,  or  that 
they  talked,  but  through  their  side  it  leaked  out,  and 
they  were  ordered  by  their  superior  officers  not  to  pay 
their  losses  ; which  instructions  were  strictly  obeyed. 

On  a bright  Sunday  morning,  with  the  wind 
blowing  strong  from  the  North,  we  left  Beni-Sooef, 
enriched  by  a sheep  and  a couple  of  turkeys,  pre- 
sented by  our  consul.  With  clear  starlight  the 
Vittoria  kept  on  its  course,  and  the  next  day  arrived 


UP  THE  NILE. 


»77 


at  a point  opposite  the  famous  tombs  of  Beni-Hassan. 
Tliese  are  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  about  a mile 
from  the  bank,  and  are  halt-way  up  the  almost  pre- 
cipitous cliffs  of  limestone.  The  Mokkattam  chain 
of  hills,  under  various  names,  extends  parallel  with 
the  Nile  from  Cairo  to  Assouan,  a distance  of  almost 
seven  hundred  miles.  The  range  is  scarcely  high 
enough  to  be  called  mountains,  for  only  occasional 
peaks  have  an  altitude  of  more  than  a thousand  feet, 
while  the  average  height  is  a great  deal  less.  It 
extends  easterly,  as  a plateau,  to  the  Red  Sea,  and 
is  traversed  by  valleys  of  sandy  desert,  peopled  by 
nomadic  Bedouins.  On  the  plateau  there  is  no 
water,  but  wells  were  dug  in  some  of  the  gorges 
centuries  and  centuries  ago,  and  they  yet  furnish 
drink  to  man  and  beast.  The  cattle  find  little  to  eat 
save  some  grasses  that  grow  near  the  wells,  yet 
somehow  they  live.  What  fearful  places  these 
narrow  sandy  ravines  between  the  arid  steep  cliffs 
must  be  in  the  long  hot  summer  days ! Being 
without  water  and  verdure,  the  sand  reflects  the 
heat,  and  the  bare  rocks  of  the  slopes  blister  even 
the  pachydermatous  feet  of  the  natives.  Nothing  is 
met  with  save  the  white  bones  of  dead  animals,  and 
nothing  seen  but  the  gigantic  vulture,  who  flies 
reluctantly  away  from  his  loathsome  food  as  the 
traveller  appears.  Who  could  make  a choice  between 
Siberia  and  Eastern  Egypt?  Who  would  choose 


N 


i78 


EGYPTIAN-  SKETCHES. 


to  live  rather  than  die  there?  For  all  that,  the 
pressure  of  population  in  these  old  lands  has  been 
so  great  that  human  beings  have  lived  in  it  from 
the  darkest  past.  It  may  be  also  that,  as  no  one 
wanted  these  burning  ravines,  they  were  free  to 
roam  there  undisturbed,  and  to  the  Bedouin  the 
desert  is  liberty.  No  Pharaoh  ever  placed  his 
temples  in  their  midst,  and  the  sun  was  worshipped 
by  these  ancient  banditti  in  their  own  simple  way, 
and  not  with  leopard-clothed  priests. 

Walls  were  built  forty  centuries  ago,  closing  up 
the  mouths  of  the  gorges  as  they  entered  on  the  Nile 
valley.  The  barriers  extended  across  the  passes  from 
bluff  to  bluff,  and,  fashioned  in  this  wise,  the  proto- 
type of  the  Chinese  Wall  was  hundreds  of  miles  in 
length.  It  endured  for  ages,  but  the  marauders 
often  scaled  the  summit  or  broke  through  the  passes. 
They  were  robbers  from  necessity.  Like  Napoleon’s 
army  in  Italy,  they  had  nothing  and  the  enemy 
everything.  Taking  their  neighbours’  goods  became 
the  first  article  of  the  Bedouin’s  religion,  and  it  is 
the  oldest  religion  in  the  world,  for  this  cardinal 
feature  has  remained  unchanged.  They  are  also  the 
first  republicans  that  are  told  of  in  History’s  annals, 
as  they  had  neither  Pharaoh  nor  king  as  ruler. 
Each  family,  with  its  children,  grandchildren,  and 
relatives,  was  a complete  entity,  and  obeyed  only  the 
oldest  man  in  the  camp,  lie  was  their  patriarch, 


UP  THE  NILE. 


179 


and  the  obedience  rendered  him  was  due  to  his  age 
and  wisdom.  He  punished  and  rewarded  with 
justice  and  severity,  dividing  impartially  the  booty 
stolen  in  their  forays.  On  an  expedition  they  joined 
forces  witli  other  clans,  but  after  the  return  to  their 
desert  homes,  separated  as  before.  The  tent  was 
their  house  and  the  whole  desert  their  home,  for, 
like  the  waves  of  the  sea,  the  Bedouins  were  never 
quiet,  but  always  restless  and  in  motion. 

Formerly,  a Bedouin  guilty  of  a crime  was  at 
once  punished  in  the  desert.  To-day  he  is  banished 
from  home,  and  sent  down  to  the  Nile  valley.  The 
poor  peasants  working  patiently  in  the  fields  respect 
his  stalwart  form  and  fear  his  piercing  eye.  Instead 
of  sending  him  back,  or  handing  him  over  to  the 
authorities  as  a robber,  they  permit  him  to  settle 
down  among  them,  marry  their  daughters,  and  live 
in  peace.  But  our  Bedouin  does  not  want  to  live  in 
peace.  His  freebooting  instincts  are  strong,  and,  as 
he  cannot  for  very  shame  steal  from  the  villagers 
who  have  given  him  shelter  and  a home,  he  appeases 
his  conscience  by  stealing  from  every  one  else. 
This  was  the  reason  why  our  reis  would  not  anchor 
at  the  village  of  Beni-Hassan,  but  a long  way  above, 
and  insisted  on  a guard  being  stationed  on  land  in 
front  of  the  dahabeeyeh  during  the  night.  It  seems 
that  two  or  three  Bedouins  in  each  village  turn 
things  upside  down,  and  make  the  whole  people  like 


i8o 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


themselves,  so  that  all  the  country  on  the  Arabian 
side  of  the  river  is  in  an  uproar,  and  no  one  of  the 
Nile  sailors  dare  leave  his  boat  to  go  far  inland. 

We  mounted  the  diminutive  donkeys  and  went  as 
far  as  we  could  with  them  up  the  steep  roadside,  to 
the  cliff.  It  took  three  men  and  a chair  to  hoist  the 
consul-general  on  to  his  docile  animal,  and  after  a 
hundred  yards  he  said,  “ There’s  a bit  of  a ditch 
ahead,  and  if  my  donkey  tries  to  step  across  it,  I 
shall  fall  off  sure,  so  I guess  I will  get  off  and  walk.” 
“ For  Heaven’s  sake,”  I said,  “ don’t  do  it.  With 
your  avoirdupois  you’ll  give  out  and  turn  back 
before  we  get  there.  Let  the  donkey  cave  in  first.” 
But  at  sight  of  the  ditch,  which  was  quite  a foot 
wide  and  of  corresponding  depth,  he  was  appalled, 
and  slid  off  his  foaming  charger’s  back  with  wonder- 
ful celerity  for  a man  who  weighed  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds.  The  donkey  looked  relieved. 

“ It’s  no  use  talking,”  said  the  consul ; “ I never 
could  ride.  I don’t  know  bow  my  brother  got  on 
at  West  Point ; but  if  he  isn’t  a better  rider  than  I, 
Uncle  Sam  must  have  at  least  one  poor  cavalry 
officer.” 

He  trudged  on  through  the  ploughed  fields  man- 
fully, and  presently  we  emerged  on  the  sand  and 
went  up  to  the  tombs  by  the  ancient  road.  Blocks 
of  stone  were  laid  down,  and  with  a little  work  it 
could  be  all  exposed.  The  tombs  are  midway  up 


UP  THE  NILE. 


1S1 


the  hillside,  and  range  parallel  to  each  other  for 
several  hundred  yards.  More  than  thirty  have  been 
found  and  opened,  and  doubtless  many  others  will 
be  discovered  in  the  future,  for  there  is  no  reason 
why  there  should  not  be  hundreds.  All  the  books 
in  the  world  do  not  give  one  so  good  an  idea  of  a 
place  as  seeing  it  with  one’s  own  eyes.  For  instance, 
I had  already  known  that  the  Egyptians  buried 
mummies  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  from  the 
towns  in  which  they  lived,  but  I never  knew  why. 
At  Beni-Hassan,  at  least,  the  reason  was  quite  clear. 
The  valley  of  the  Nile  is  from  one  to  ten  miles  wide 
on  the  west  bank,  and  the  Libyan  range  is  quite 
distant.  On  the  east  side,  the  valley  is  hardly  a 
mile  across  until  it  juts  up  against  the  Arabian  hills. 
Now,  in  the  inundation,  a good  part  of  the  valley 
on  both  sides  is  flooded  for  two  or  three  months,  and 
as  the  west  side  was  the  widest,  and  the  side  where 
naturally  people  would  live  and  cultivate  the  land, 
they  did  not  want  their  dead  to  be  covered  with 
water  every  year,  so  they  took  them  over  the  Nile 
from  west  to  east,  and  interred  them  in  the  rock 
recesses  of  the  limestone  cliffs,  whose  base  was 
frequently  washed  by  the  Nile  waves  when  in  flood. 

Again,  though  they  took  good  care  of  their  bodies 
when  dead,  they  also  thought  of  themselves  when 
living,  and  a mummy  deep  down  in  the  rocky  slopes 
occupied  no  part  of  the  valley  that  might  be  used  to 


j82 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


produce  food  for  the  living.  There  is  no  instance  of 
an  ancient  cemetery  being  found  among  the  culti- 
vated fields.  The  great  had  their  separate  vaults 
hewn  out  of  the  living  rock,  and  the  less  were 
thrown  into  pits  just  on  the  edge  of  the  desert, 
where  not  even  the  most  stunted  palm  or  tiny 
lichen  ever  waved  over  their  remains.  A more 
dreary  place  than  the  spot  where  these  pits  were,  on 
the  white  starving  sand  at  the  entrance  to  a gorge, 
cannot  well  be  imagined.  Far  different  was  it  on 
the  cliffs  overlooking  the  wide  river  and  green 
valley,  where  rested  the  embalmed  bodies  of  the 
Egyptian  aristocrat. 

The  principal  tombs  of  Beni-Hassan  are  of  the 
twelfth  dynasty,  five  thousand  years  ago.  Dis- 
covered only  this  century,  they  have  been  hidden 
by  the  debris  that  had  fallen  and  been  thrown  down 
on  the  entrances  from  above.  The  doors,  with 
two  columns  of  the  native  rock  between,  usher  one 
to  a large  chamber,  covered  on  both  roof  and  sides 
with  hieroglyphics  and  pictures.  These  are  cut  into 
the  rock,  and  the  room  itself  is  supported  by  a 
number  of  columns  left  standing  as  supports  when 
the  excavation  was  made.  Very  few  remains  of 
Egyptian  architecture,  exclusive  of  the  Pyramids, 
exist  to-day  that  are  older  than  Beni-IIassan  ; 
therefore  they  are  wonderfully  attractive,  both  to 
the  antiquarian  and  the  ordinary  traveller.  The 


UP  THE  NILE. 


183' 

soft  limestone  that  forms  these  hills  is  very  easy  to 
fashion,  and  is  not  brittle.  It  cuts  well,  leaving  a 
smooth  shining  surface,  and  does  not  break  off  like 
a more  stubborn  material,  although  it  hardens  on 
exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  One  can  almost  shave 
it  with  a good  penknife.  Water,  of  course,  never 
enters,  for  it  seldom  rains,  and  the  cliffs  have  not  a 
spring  nor  a drop  of  water  within  their  recesses. 
The  hot  summer  sun  dries  the  mountains  until  they 
are  as  parched  as  the  mummies  that  rest  so  serenely 
on  their  stony  couches.  The  columns  near  the  roof 
are  rounded  to  resemble  lotus  leaves,  the  flutes 
swelling  outward  and  gradually  narrowing  near  the 
top.  I afterwards  found  the  same  type  in  all  the 
temples  and  older  tombs.  One  might  believe  that 
the  men  who  built  and  ornamented  these  funeral 
vaults  knew  that  the  day  would  come  when  their 
nation,  history,  customs,  and  language  would  be 
unknown ; that  their  existence,  so  far  back,  would 
be  no  more  than  a Nile  myth,  and  that  later  ages 
would  only  think  of  them,  if  at  all,  as  savages. 
Else  why  did  they  paint  so  vividly,  so  truly,  and 
so  carefully  the  most  prosaic  and  commonplace 
events  of  daily  life,  if  it  were  not  to  show  the  extent 
of  their  refinement  and  civilization  ? Nearly  every- 
thing on  the  walls  of  Beni-Hassan  points  to  life, 
hardly  anything  to  death.  The  sculptured  resting- 
places  of  the  enshrined  mummies  recount  to  the 


184 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


eye,  which  does  not  require  a knowledge  of  hiero- 
glyphics to  understand,  the  ordinary  avocations  of 
the  Nile  peasant.  Here  are  depicted  sowing  and 
reaping,  vine  gathering  and  pressing,  the  making 
and  launching  of  boats,  weaving  and  dyeing  of  linen, 
driving  and  killing  of  cattle,  and  feeding  and 
enumerating  untold  quantities  of  geese,  chickens, 
and  sheep.  There  is  but  little  that  is  warlike  or 
pompous  in  these  coloured  and  chiselled  outlines ; 
they  give  us  plain  matter-of-fact  delineations  of 
domestic  life  and  customs,  even  to  the  whipping  of 
a refractory  servant  by  the  bastinado.  Nor  does 
one  observe  anything  immoral  or  indecent  in  these 
paintings.  They  could  he  shown  to  Sabbath-school 
children  with  perfect  propriety. 

The  colouring  of  the  pictures  is  fast  going  year 
after  year,  and  every  once  in  a while  some  rascal 
of  a native,  and  very  often  a foreigner  also,  breaks 
off  some  priceless  cartouche  or  segment  of  painting 
and  takes  it  awav.  Just  before  we  irot  to  Beni- 
Hassan,  complaint  had  been  made  at  Cairo  that 
seven  cartouches  of  various  Pharaohs  had  been  cut 
from  the  walls  and  stolen.  They  are  priceless,  for 
they  are  fifty  centuries  old,  and  cannot  be  replaced. 

While  we  were  there,  an  English  officer  of  the 
police  arrived  with  some  soldiers  to  look  into  the 
robbery,  but  I learned  some  weeks  later  that  he  had 
not  been  able  to  trace  the  thieves.  The  Nile  Arab 


UP  THE  NILE. 


185 


can  sell  the  cartouches  to  people  who  know  their 
value  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  five  hun- 
dred dollars  each,  as  they  would  he  the  gem  of  any 
private  collection.  And  the  honesty  of  no  American 
or  European  seems  to  be  proof  against  such  a 
temptation,  even  if  he  knows  that  the  cartouches 
have  been  filched  from  the  chambers  of  the  dead. 

There  is  supposed  to  be  a guardian  of  the  tombs, 
and  certainly  the  Cairo  Government  endeavours  to 
provide  liberally  and  justly  for  the  safety  of  all  the 
old  monuments ; but  at  Beni-Hassan  we  never  met 
the  guardian  during  our  whole  visit. 

I went  into  the  last  of  the  sculptured  tombs  alone, 
and  made  my  way  to  the  shaft  in  the  corner  of  the 
chamber.  I looked  down  into  its  dark  depths,  and 
wondered  how  many  years  had  gone  by  since  it  was 
first  occupied  by  its  dead  owner.  In  after  ages  he 
and  his  coffin  had  been  taken  out,  broken,  and 
destroyed  by  reckless  invaders,  and  the  mummy  of 
the  “ good  servant  ” of  Osurtasen  I.  rested  not  in 
the  tomb  that  he  had  so  carefully  and  lovingly  pre- 
pared. Through  the  gloom  I heard  rustling,  and 
a long  snake  glided  by  my  feet  and  threw  itself  with 
a dull  thud  down  on  the  stones  that  filled  up  the 
crypt  below.  It  must  have  fallen  fifteen  feet,  and, 
as  I held  my  torch  over  the  well,  I could  see  it  move 
slowly  away  in  the  vaulted  recesses  beneath  the 
rock  floor  on  which  I stood. 


i86 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


High  up  above  me  on  the  painted  walls  were 
offerings  to  Osiris,  and  among  the  emblems  of 
worship  I could  faintly  see,  cut  into  the  enduring 
stone,  the  sinuous  outlines  of  a serpent  of  old  Nile, 
of  the  same  length  and  shape  as  the  one  which  had 
just  leaped  from  light  above  to  darkness  below. 
Nothing  seems  unchanged  in  this  old  Egypt,  and 
the  centuries  are  but  as  days  in  her  life. 

On  the  return  to  the  boat,  we  went  a little  out 
of  the  road  in  the  desert  to  see  the  cat  mummies 
and  select  some  examples.  Right  in  the  sandy  level 
plain,  not  more  than  four  or  five  feet  from  the 
surface,  were  numerous  uncovered  circular  holes, 
about  eight  feet  in  diameter.  Each  pit  was  full  of 
the  mummied  bodies  of  cats,  carefully  swathed  in 
hands  and  folds  of  linen.  The  pits  were  close  to- 
gether, and  the  sands  around  were  strewn  with  the 
broken  bones,  mummies,  and  bandages  of  these 
animals.  Not  only  cats  and  kittens  rested  peace- 
fully in  their  last  sleep,  but  dogs,  jackals,  and  even 
pigs  had  found  in  their  great  sorrow  dear  ones  who, 
with  delicate  hands  and  deep  emotion,  had  carefully 
laid  them  in  their  linen  shroud  to  their  eternal  rest. 
This  solemn  necropolis  of  those  whose  virtues  and 
deeds  have  never  yet  been  fully  related  was  un- 
earthed thirty  years  ago,  and,  by  the  vandal  hands 
of  the  natives,  is  being  fast  emptied  of  its  precious 
remains.  I surmise  that  the  value  of  these  relics 


UP  THE  NILE. 


187 

may  not  always  be  the  same,  and  that  the  time 
approaches  when  a varied  assortment  of  domestic 
animals  with  appendages  complete  and  three  thou- 
sand years  old,  will  not  be  furnished  for  tlie  small 
sum  of  one  dollar.  Our  funeral  procession,  on  its 
way  to  the  Vittoria,  encountered  the  Bishop  of  Truro 
and  several  other  clergymen  hound  for  Beni-Hassan, 
astride  of  red-saddled  donkeys.  Though  aware  of 
the  sacred  character  of  our  cortege,  they  did  not 
arrest  their  rapid  progress,  but  simply  smiled  and 
passed  on. 


i88 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

TO  LUXOR. 

Ox  returning  to  the  Vittoria  we  hoisted  sail,  for 
there  was  a fair  breeze  from  the  north,  and  headed 
up  the  river  for  Assiout,  where  we  arrived  next  day. 
It  is  the  largest  town  in  Egypt  south  of  Cairo. 
Only  the  latter  city  and  Alexandria  are  larger. 

The  railway  terminates  here,  two  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  miles  from  Cairo.  It  belongs  to  the 
Government,  and  is  a good  paying  line. 

Assiout  is  on  the  western  side  of  the  Nile,  as  are 
most  of  the  places  in  Upper  Egypt.  The  Nile  valley 
is  wider  on  that  side,  for  the  Libyan  hills  do  not 
come  so  near  the  river  as  does  the  Arabian  range 
on  the  east.  The  town  extends  a mile  or  so  from  rite 
bank,  in  a close  compact  form.  Land  is  so  valuable 
for  cultivation,  and  there  is  so  little  of  it,  that  none 
is  wasted.  Except  the  few  stone  and  white-washed 
mansions  of  the  beys  and  pashas,  the  city  is  built 
of  low,  brown  clay  houses  of  one  story,  one  room, 
and  no  window,  with  mud  floors,  and  is  divided  by 


TO  LUXOR. 


189 

narrow  lanes  without  sidewalks.  Yet  these  houses 
are  by  no  means  so  squalid  and  uncomfortable  as  one 
might  think  from  this  description.  The  fire,  which 
is  made  of  droppings,  as  I have  already  described,  is 
only  used  half  an  hour  in  the  morning  and  evening, 
so  there  is  no  smoke.  It  hardly  ever  rains,  and  the 
weather  is  so  warm  for  nine  months  of  the  twelve, 
that  every  one  except  the  mosquitoes  and  flies  is, 
from  daylight  to  dusk,  out  of  doors.  The  huts 
remind  me  greatly  of  those  belonging  to  the 
peasantry  in  the  south  of  Ireland,  except  that  it  is 
a good  deal  more  pleasant  in  Egypt,  and  the  people 
live  with  less  toil. 

Before  the  fall  of  Gordon  and  Khartoum,  Assiout 
was  the  centre  of  the  Soudanese  trade,  all  of  the 
camel  caravans  making  it  their  point  for  arrival  and 
departure,  as  it  was  the  head  of  the  railway.  This 
traffic  must  have  been  of  very  considerable  magni- 
tude, for  every  one  now  laments  its  loss,  and  the 
consequent  stagnation  in  business,  not  only  at  Assiout, 
but  in  all  Upper  Egypt. 

We  found  the  governor  an  energetic  old  Egyptian, 
with  plenty  of  life  and  spirit,  which  was  a marvel 
to  see  here.  He  was  full  of  irrigation  schemes,  and 
has  a plan  of  his  own  to  double  the  water  supply 
and  production  of  his  district.  Up  here  they  raise 
only  one  crop  a year,  while  in  the  Delta  five  crops  are 
garnered  in  two  years  from  some  places. 


190 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


Of  the  forty-five  thousand  people  that  live  here, 
fully  one-third  are  Copts,  and  they  are  the  richest 
and  most  prosperous  of  the  inhabitants.  The 
American  consul  is  considered  the  richest  man  in 
Assiout.  He  owns  several  thousand  acres  of  the 
best  lands,  valued  at  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre, 
besides  a number  of  stone  houses,  which  are  very 
costly,  two  or  three  large  gardens,  and  a sugar-mill. 
The  family  have  had  the  agency  for  thirty  years. 
It  descends  from  father  to  son  as  an  inheritance, 
though  every  consul-general  sent  over  here  from 
America  has  the  power  to  change  the  representatives 
in  all  the  towns  of  Egypt  under  his  jurisdiction.  It 
seems  odd  that  nearly  all  our  consuls  are  Copts. 
Yet  they  comprise  but  one-tenth  of  the  population. 
It  is  also  something  to  observe  that  they  are  all  rich. 
There  must  be  an  advantage  in  being  a foreign 
consul  that  I do  not  as  yet  understand. 

Of  the  few  Americans  who  go  up  the  Nile,  hardly 
one  calls  at  the  various  consulates  on  the  river,  and 
we  have  not  yet  found  a single  American,  except  the 
missionaries,  who  lives  in  Egypt  south  of  Cairo. 
At  the  head  of  the  American  Missionary  Society  in 
Egypt  is  Dr.  Lansing,  who  is  stationed  at  Cairo. 
He  is  a venerable,  keen  old  man,  and  has  been  a 
resident  of  the  East  for  a quarter  of  a century.  The 
Society  has  a fine  stone  edifice  in  a goodly  quarter 
of  Cairo,  and  its  schools  number  two  hundred  children 


TO  LUXOR . 


191 

of  the  better  class  of  Arabs.  They  all  have  to  pay, 
and  are  taught  French  and  English,  besides  the 
ordinary  school  studies  in  Arabic.  No  effort  is  made 
to  convert  them,  though  I fancy  the  contributors  to 
the  fund  in  America  believe  otherwise.  I do  not 
think  that  the  attempt,  if  made,  would  bring  forth 
many  proselytes,  for  these  people  are  satisfied  with 
their  own  religions,  whose  mysticisms  harmonize  so 
well  with  their  superstitious  and  ignorant  nature. 
When  any  changes  do  take  place,  it  is  a Copt 
becoming  a Protestant  rather  than  a Moslem  turning 
Christian.  The  children  are  sent  to  the  missionary 
schools  for  the  knowledge  of  the  foreign  languages 
that  they  acquire.  The  influx  of  strangers  and  the 
English  domination  render  this  knowledge  very 
essential  to  the  young  Arab  of  good  family  who  may 
look  for  service  in  the  departments. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Alexander,  who  superintend  the 
missionary  buildings  at  Assiout,  received  us  very 
warmly.  There  was  a pleasant  coal  fire  glowing  in 
a New  England  stove  in  the  room,  which  was  an 
agreeable  surprise;  for,  though  it  was  a cold  and 
cloudy  day,  neither  at  the  mansion  of  the  consul  nor 
the  palace  of  the  governor  was  there  a stove,  fire- 
place, or  range  of  any  kind.  Every  one  went  about 
wrapped  in  overcoats,  and  this  in  Upper  Egypt,  where 
I had  thought  there  were  only  different  degrees 
of  warmth  and  never  any  cold  weather. 


192 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


The  missionary  buildings  are  four  in  number, 
built  of  red  bricks  and  stone,  forming  the  outer  sides 
of  a square  or  courtyard,  paved  within  with  small 
stones.  The  entrance  was  approached  through  a 
garden,  where  grew  palm,  fig,  and  jujube  trees. 
Red  rose  bushes  and  mandarin  trees,  together  with 
the  Dom  palm,  lined  either  side  of  the  gravelled 
path,  and  several  little  date-palms,  springing  up  from 
the  ground  with  leaves  like  grasses,  were  planted 
here  and  there.  The  gardens  were  clean  and  free 
from  dust,  and  we  had  no  doubt  that  the  care  and 
energy  of  Mrs.  Alexander  were  the  cause  of  this 
neatness.  On  our  departure  we  were  again  pre- 
sented with  a sheep  and  turkey  by  the  nephew  of 
the  consul,  who  represented  the  office  in  the  absence 
of  the  latter. 

These  little  presents  it  is  not  good  form  to  refuse, 
and  indeed  we  had  no  intention  of  doing  so,  for, 
added  to  chickens,  they  are  the  only  meat  one  gets 
on  the  Nile.  It  is  impossible  to  buy  beef,  though 
there  are  many  cattle.  The  Egyptians  find  them 
too  useful  as  beasts  of  burden  in  the  fields  or  at  the 
sakkieh,  and  even  the  cows  are  trained  to  turn  the 
water-wheel,  bringing  up  the  precious  fluid  to  water 
their  lands.  Water  can  be  procured  almost  any- 
where in  the  valley  of  the  river  by  sinking  wells, 
for  the  Nile  percolates  through  the  soft  and  porous 
soil,  still  sodden  underneath  the  surface,  from  the 


TO  LUXOR. 


193 


effect  of  the  last  inundation.  But  naturally  it  is  not 
above  the  surface  of  the  river,  so  that  during  the 
low  stages  of  the  spring  and  summer  it  costs  too 
much  to  pump  water  to  the  surface  from  the  deep 
wells.  It  is  easier  to  take  it  from  the  river-banks, 
either  by  the  shadoof  or  sakkieh,  and  let  it  run  in 
numerous  little  canals  over  the  land. 

Going  up  from  Assiout,  we  realized  that  this 
strange  stream  was  strange  in  other  ways,  besides  its 
annual  uprising  like  a god  in  his  might.  Most  rivers 
are  broadest,  deepest,  and  widest  at  their  mouths. 
The  Nile  is  one-third  larger  a thousand  miles  above, 
the  point  at  which  its  muddy  volume  forks  before 
entering  the  Mediterranean.  For  in  all  that  distance 
it  lias  no  affluent,  and  the  loss  by  evaporation  and 
irrigation  is  immense.  Above  Assiout  it  is  a mile 
wide,  and  in  a strong  breeze  the  white-capped  waves 
roll  like  a miniature  sea.  One  can  sail  up  the  river 
against  the  current  more  rapidly  than  down  it,  even 
when  oars  are  used.  For  the  wind  blows  steadily 
from  the  Mediterranean  three-fourths  of  the  year, 
and,  filling  the  two  large  sails  of  the  dahabeeyeh, 
sweeps  it  along  against  the  rising  waves  three  or 
four  miles  an  hour.  Sandbanks  are  plentiful,  and 
stop  the  boat  sometimes  with  a suddenness  that  is 
neither  pleasant  nor  picturesque.  The  most  skilful 
reis  cannot  avoid  them,  for  the  river  makes  new 
ones  annually,  and  where  last  year  there  may  have 


0 


194 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


been  ten  feet  of  water  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  one 
may  run  straight  on  a sandbank  like  a crocodile’s 
back.  There  is  but  little  danger,  however,  save  the 
annoyance  of  delay,  for  it  is  not  rocky  nor  hard,  and 
good  management,  with  steady  work,  usually  gets 
the  boat  off  in  a couple  of  hours. 

Above  Assiout,  we  passed  on  the  east  side  many 
bold  bluffs  that  came  down  and  towered  over  the 
Nile  like  gigantic  vultures  with  outspread  wings. 
They  rise  up  so  sheer  and  sudden  from  beneath  the 
water,  that  scarce  a swallow  could  find  foothold  on 
the  sides  of  the  frowning  cliffs.  Yet  they  were 
pierced  in  many  places,  and  the  open  portals  of  the 
empty  tombs  looked  down  on  the  turbid  waters  of 
the  river  that  was  even  older  than  they.  Numerous 
unopened  and  undiscovered  treasures  of  antiquity 
must  still  rest  within  these  red  walls,  waiting 
patiently  until  they  shall  be  thrown  open  to  the  light 
of  the  Western  sun.  Egypt  up  here,  which  is  merely 
the  strip  of  valley  land  between  the  two  hill  ranges 
on  either  side  of  the  Nile,  grows  palm  trees  as  well 
as  wheat  and  sugar-cane.  One  is  never  out  of  sight 
of  the  tall  graceful  palm,  with  its  feathery  leaves 
springing  from  the  very  summit  of  the  tree,  and  curv- 
ing over  like  a green  silk  umbrella. 

The  location  of  every  little  village  is  known 
long  before  the  boat  is  near  to  the  spot  to  which 
the  girls  come  down  to  the  river  for  water,  by 


V 7-  ' 


the  sakkxeh.  To  Jace  page  194. 


TO  LUXOR. 


J95 


the  dark  dense  grove  of  palms  at  whose  base  the 
huts  are  nestled.  The  trees  are  all  numbered  every 
five  years,  and  each  one  old  enough  to  bear  dates 
pays  a Government  tax.  It  is  estimated  that  there 
are  seven  millions  of  them,  or  about  one  palm  tree  to 
each  inhabitant.  Sycamore  and  acacia  or  gum  trees 
are  very  often  seen,  usually  in  small  groves,  and 
separate  from  the  palms.  The  Dom  palm  differs 
from  the  date  palm  in  not  being  so  high,  and  it  has 
more  branches,  which  leave  the  parent  trunk  midway 
to  the  top.  The  fruit  is  larger  but  not  so  sweet  nor 
so  nutritious.  It  does  not  seem  to  flourish  in  Lower 
Egypt,  though  that  is  quite  as  warm  as  Upper 
Egypt.  Perhaps  it  is  not  dry  enough  in  the  Delta. 

Mustard,  onions,  lettuce,  cabbages,  and  many 
other  vegetables  are  raised  in  great  quantities,  and 
can  be  bought  cheaply.  Chickens  are  twenty  cents 
each,  and  eggs  ten  cents  a dozen ; but  the  eggs  are 
so  small  that  three  of  them  hardly  equal  two  of 
Californian  production.  A sheep  costs  four  dollars, 
and  turkeys  one  dollar  each.  Beef,  as  I said  before, 
cannot  be  bought ; but  Nile  fish  are  plentiful,  though 
insipid.  The  Nile  is  never  clean,  as  it  always  con- 
tains earth  in  solution,  and  for  more  than  half  the 
year  the  water  is  warm.  Fish  are  rarely  good  in 
warm  latitudes.  The  best  fish  I ever  ate  were  in 
Japan,  caught  in  the  Inland  Sea,  when  the  snow  was 
a foot  deep  at  Nagasaki. 


196 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


In  the  winter  sugar-cane  is  the  dessert  of  the 
sailors.  They  munch  it  at  all  hours,  and  every  day 
or  two  they  club  together  and  buy  a lot  of  it  from 
a farmer  at  an  absurdly  low  price.  After  leaving 
Cairo,  we  must  have  passed  thirty  or  forty  sugar- 
mills.  The  tall  smoke-stacks  rise  high  above  the 
palm  trees  and  even  the  minarets  ; and  the  smoke 
is  seen  curling  up  until  it  is  lost  in  the  blue  African 
sky.  I do  not  know  what  Egypt  would  have  done 
in  these  later  years  without  sugar-cane  and  cotton. 
The  cultivation  of  sugar-cane  was  largely  increased 
by  Ismail  Pasha,  and,  in  his  Oriental  way,  he  took 
many  acres  of  the  best  sugar  lands  from  the  fellaheen 
on  one  pretext  or  another,  built  sugar-mills,  fully 
equipped  them,  and  derived  a large  revenue  from 
these  fruits  of  his  honest  industry,  until  the  bond- 
holders compelled  him  to  emigrate. 

On  nearly  every  sand-spit  in  the  river,  removed 
from  the  banks  on  either  side,  were  cranes,  herons, 
pelicans,  and  vultures.  The  latter  were  larger  than 
the  American  bald  eagle,  and  were  always  tearing 
at  the  carcase  of  some  camel  or  donkey,  thrown  by 
the  river  on  the  bank. 

Geese  and  ducks  were  plentiful,  especially  the 
latter ; but  all  the  water-fowl  are  very  shy.  I was 
unable  to  secure  a single  duck,  and  a rifle  was 
needed  for  the  large  birds.  Every  one  whacks 
away  at  them  from  the  dahabeeyehs,  no  matter  how 


TO  LUXOR. 


197 


distant  they  are,  and  the  birds  know  the  large  lateen 
sail  of  the  tourist  from  afar,  and  quietly  sail  away. 

Purple-winged  doves,  mottled  kingfishers,  and 
black-headed  snipe  were  easily  shot,  and  made  a 
good  dish,  broiled  on  toast  with  a thin  slice  of 
bacon.  Every  village  that  we  passed  sent  out 
clouds  of  pigeons,  who  were  half  aquatic  in  their 
habits,  for  they  would  sweep  over  the  river  on 
strong  pinions,  dart  suddenly  down  and  rest  on  the 
water  for  a moment,  then  rise  and  swiftly  fly  above 
our  boat  in  increasing  circles. 

Water  is  carried  to  the  houses  of  the  people  from 
the  river  by  the  girls  and  women  in  earthen  jars. 
The  shape  of  these  jars  is  the  same  now  as  it  was 
in  the  earliest  ages,  for  many  such  are  drawn  in  the 
antique  sculptures.  Even  in  the  winter,  when  we 
shivered  on  deck  in  heavy  overcoats,  the  girls  walked 
into  the  water  up  to  their  knees  and  filled  the 
amphorse.  The  watering-place  on  the  bank  is,  I 
imagine,  the  great  gossip  station,  for  there  is  always 
a group  of  half  a dozen  or  more  women  and  girls, 
dressed  in  dark-blue  cotton  gowns,  with  bare  feet 
and  sometimes  bare  legs,  chattering  away  at  a rate 
to  rival  the  pigeons. 

The  jars  are  graded  to  the  size  of  the  bearer,  but 
every  one,  from  the  little  tot  of  six  or  seven  summers 
to  the  old  woman,  bears  away  on  her  head  in 
these  vessels  some  of  the  Nile  wine.  They  are  a 


198 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


pleasant  and  interesting  feature  of  Egypt,  and  one 
never  feels  alone  when  the  music  of  their  voices  is 
borne  on  the  zephyrs  to  the  swift-sailing  dahabeeyeh. 

In  two  or  three  days  from  Assiout  we  came  to 
Denderah,  leaving  Abydus  until  the  voyage  hack. 
I had  read  and  heard  so  much  of  Denderah  that  I 
was  very  anxious  to  see  the  temple  that  yet  retained 
a memory  and  a portrait  of  Cleopatra.  It  is  quite 
modern,  as  temples  go  in  Egypt,  not  being  completed 
at  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era.  The 
names  of  several  of  the  Caesars,  as  well  as  one  or 
two  Ptolemies,  are  sculptured  on  the  columns. 

But  the  hieroglyphics  and  sculptures  that  cover 
the  outside  and  inside  walls,  the  ceiling,  the  columns, 
the  fa9ade,  the  roof  and  walls  of  the  inner  chambers, 
are  hut  copies  of  those  that  ornamented  the  old 
temple,  of  which  the  present  monument  is  the  suc- 
cessor. Egypt  is  so  old  that  bricks  and  mortar, 
granite  and  limestone  have  faded  and  broken  away 
in  the  fulness  of  time.  Temple  has  been  built  on 
temple,  foundation  on  foundation.  This  one  at 
Denderah  is  said  to  have  had  its  predecessors, 
erected  on  the  same  spot,  and  yet  this  is  two  thou- 
sand years  old.  For  the  Egyptian  myth  that  divides 
the  body  of  Osiris  into  sixteen  pieces  after  he  was 
slain  by  his  brother  Set  adds  that  one  of  the  sixteen 
fragments  was  found  here  by  his  wife  and  sister 
Isis.  It  thus  became  a sacred  place  in  the  Osirian 


TO  LUXOR. 


199 


mysteries,  and  before  the  time  of  Menes  is  supposed 
to  have  been  an  independent  locality,  like  the  other 
nomes  or  districts  which  then  made  up  the  later 
Egypt.  So  that  its  antiquity  is  very  remote,  and 
the  first  religious  monument  constructed  where  now 
stands  this  magnificent  sanctuary  to  Egypt’s  dead 
gods,  takes  us  far  back  into  the  mists  of  the  un- 
known. The  floor  of  the  temple  is  about  twenty 
feet  below  the  masses  of  rubbish  that  surround  the 
structure  on  all  sides.  The  level  of  the  valley  itself 
has  not  perceptibly  risen,  but  an  Egyptian  village 
was  built  about  the  temple.  As  the  sun-dried 
brick  huts  fell  away  after  a century  or  so,  others 
were  built  on  their  ruins,  so  that  gradually  the 
ground  there  was  elevated,  until  now  one  has  to 
descend  a steep  flight  of  steps  to  the  immense 
slabs  of  limestone  that  make  its  floor.  All  the 
columns  are  in  position,  including  those  of  the  hypo- 
style  hall ; but  the  sculptures  are  badly  mutilated, 
much  more  than  I supposed  from  the  descriptions 
I had  read.  The  early  Christians,  it  is  thought, 
after  the  abolition  of  Egyptian  worship  under  the 
edict  of  Theodosius  in  the  fourth  century,  amused 
themselves  by  chipping  off  the  noses  and  faces  of 
the  gods  and  Pharaohs  whose  full-length  figures 
were  cut  into  the  walls  and  pillars.  Fortunately 
they  were  too  lazy  or  not  fanatic  enough  to  take 
the  trouble  to  mount  and  mutilate  the  figures  on 


200 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


the  ceilings  and  upper  half  of  the  walls,  so  they  are 
in  fairly  good  condition.  Still  the  gloom  that  per- 
vades the  whole  structure  makes  it  difficult  to  see 
very  distinctly,  even  with  the  aid  of  candles  and 
magnesium  lights.  The  hypostyle  or  central  hall 
is  very  lofty ; the  pillars  that  support  it  of  great 
size,  and  on  either  side  are  chapels  of  stone  that 
were  allotted  to  the  priests,  with  their  robes  and 
ointments.  Light  is  only  admitted  through  two 
small  rectangular  orifices  that  slope  downwards  from 
the  side  through  the  thick  walls.  It  was  purposely 
intended  to  be  in  the  shadow,  for  the  mysterious 
rites  of  the  Egyptian  priests  to  their  sun-god  were, 
curiously  enough,  never  performed  in  his  presence. 
No  one  was  in  the  inner  hall  during  the  ceremonies, 
save  the  Pharaoh  and  his  clergy,  and  these  glorious 
buildings  of  eternity  were  consecrated  to  the  use 
and  service  of  one  living  man.  The  Pharaoh  was 
more  than  human,  and  every  one  else  less  than 
human  in  his  presence. 

These  people,  so  intelligent  in  everything  else, 
made  a god  while  he  lived  of  their  monarch.  There 
could  not  have  been  many  republicans  among  them, 
and  the  doctrine  of  equality  of  all  men  has  certainly 
not  sprung  from  Egyptian  lore. 

Ascending  to  the  roof  by  a staircase  cut  upward 
inside  one  of  the  temple  walls,  we  found  there  an 
exquisite  little  temple,  with  six  round  columns  lotus 


thothmes  xu.  (18th  dynasty).  To  face  page  200. 


TO  LUXOR. 


201 


crowned.  It  was  a very  jewel,  and  sat  as  daintily 
on  the  heavy  stones  that  made  the  flat  roof  as  a 
white  ibis.  There,  at  least,  sunlight  came,  and  it 
was  the  only  cheery  place  of  the  great  sanctuary. 
The  stones  of  the  roof  are  wonderfully  large.  The 
corner  ones  were  ten  feet  square  and  four  feet  thick, 
and  were  laid  flat  or  horizontally.  From  the  summit 
a clear  view  could  be  had  of  the  Arabian  hills  far 
off  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  the  vivid 
green  carpet  with  its  white  border  between.  The 
ancients  had  a regard  for  the  beautiful  in  nature, 
and  their  temples  are  situated  so  as  to  command 
the  largest  possible  landscape  in  the  Nile  valley. 
On  the  outside  of  the  west  wall  are  sculptured  two 
figures  of  Cleopatra,  both  larger  than  life.  They  are 
at  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  wall,  and  are 
represented  with  the  insignia  of  Isis  and  royalty — 
the  disc  and  cow’s  horns,  the  asp  and  crook.  In 
front  of  her  stands  her  son  by  Caesar,  and  they  both 
offer  libations  to  Hathor,  the  Egyptian  Venus,  to 
whom  this  temple  was  dedicated. 

The  face  of  Cleopatra  is  that  of  a full-lipped,  full- 
cheeked  woman,  with  a rounded  chin  and  large 
almond-shaped  eyes.  She  must  have  been  about 
thirty  years  old  when  it  was  drawn,  and  the  figure, 
though  of  the  same  type  as  given  by  the  Egyptian 
artists  to  all  their  royal  personages,  impresses  one  as 
it  is  outlined  on  the  stone  wall  as  that  of  a gloriously 


202 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


stately  woman.  The  golden  disc  that  crowned  the 
noble  head  reflected  the  rays  of  the  dying  sun, 
whose  light  played  softly  on  the  regal  asp  which 
shone  above  the  midnight  tresses  of  the  queen  who 
ruled  the  two  rulers  of  the  world.  I have  read 
somewhere  that  Caesar  never  wrote  a letter  to  Rome 
during  all  his  stay  at  Alexandria,  which  lasted  near 
a year.  The  conqueror  of  the  world  at  forty-nine 
was  ashamed  to  admit  that  he  had  been  conquered 
by  a girl  of  eighteen.  For  all  that,  he  sent  for  her 
to  come  to  Rome,  and  she  was  there  with  her  boy 
when  Caesar  was  killed.  If  he  had  lived  he  might 
have  made  the  boy  his  heir,  and  then  proud  Rome 
would  have  had  for  its  master  one  with  Egyptian 
blood. 

It  is  in  the  poetical  fitness  of  things  that  the 
historical  Yenus  of  Egypt  should  be  placed  on  the 
walls  of  the  sanctuary  of  the  mythical  Aphrodite  of 
Egypt,  and  this  is  the  prayer  offered  by  the  Pharaoh 
inscribed  in  the  shadows  of  the  innermost  chamber  : 
“ I offer  thee  truth  and  love,  oh  goddess  of  Denderah, 
for  truth  and  love  are  thy  work ; for  thou  art  truth 
and  love  themselves.” 

Cut  laterally  in  the  transverse  walls  that  separate 
the  halls  are  crypts,  with  secret  staircases  leading 
downwards.  They  are  thought  to  have  been  used 
as  receptacles  for  the  vessels  and  robes  belonging 
to  the  temple  and  the  clergy. 


TO  LUXOR. 


203 


The  paintings  on  the  walls  were  in  better  con- 
dition than  any  I had  yet  seen,  for  they  were  un- 
known until  Mariette  discovered  them  a few  years  ago. 
These  crypts  are  not  usually  opened  to  the  tourist, 
and  I fancy  few  people  would  want  to  go  down  the 
steep  rugged  steps  a second  time,  for  the  bats  are 
many  and  fly  about  near  one’s  candle  too  close  to  be 
pleasant.  Suleyman,  who  went  below  with  me,  lighted 
some  magnesium  wire  without  orders,  and  its  fumes 
quickly  vitiated  the  air  in  the  long  narrow  dungeon. 
We  were  nearly  stifled,  and  had  to  drag  out  one 
Arab,  the  keeper  of  the  keys,  an  old  man  whose 
weak  lungs  and  body  gave  way.  No  one  should 
ignite  magnesium  wire  in  these  tombs  and  caves 
unless  the  door  is  wide  and  high,  so  that  there  is 
plenty  of  fresh  air.  On  the  exterior  walls  of  the 
sanctuary  wasps  in  thousands  had  built  their  homes, 
and  were  flying  about  in  clouds.  One  had  to  pass 
through  the  thickest  of  them  in  viewing  Cleopatra 
and  in  making  the  circuit  near  the  wall ; but  they 
were  entirely  harmless,  and  seemed  too  busy  to  pay 
attention  to  the  Howardji. 

Riding  back  to  the  Vittoria , we  crossed  the  river 
that  afternoon  to  Keneh,  one  of  the  modern  Egyptian 
villages,  erected  on  the  ruins  of  the  monuments  of 
the  dead.  In  the  earlier  Moslem  centuries  it  was 
the  most  convenient  point  for  travellers  in  Upper 
Egypt  who  wished  to  go  to  the  Red  Sea.  For  the 


204 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


Nile  trends  eastward  there,  and  a gap  in  the  plateau 
range  permits  of  rapid  and  easy  access  from  the 
river  to  the  sea. 

Dancing  and  pottery-making  are  the  chief  attrac- 
tions and  the  cause  of  the  prosperity  at  Keneh.  The 
dancers  of  the  Ghawazee  profession  are  numerous  and 
ugly,  since  the  pretty  ones  go  to  Cairo.  They  have 
been  taught  from  infancy,  so  that  their  limbs  are 
supple  and  active  ; but  no  teaching  nor  training  can 
give  them  pretty  faces.  In  Cairo  the  pure  Egyptian 
type,  very  much  like  the  Spanish,  with  large  eyes, 
olive  transparent  cheeks,  and  white  teeth,  abounds ; 
but,  except  the  white  teeth,  very  few  of  these 
adjuncts  to  beauty  are  seen  in  Upper  Egypt.  The 
Soudanese  of  negro  blood  have  come  down  the  Nile 
and  mixed  with  the  fellaheen  for  ages,  so  that  thick 
lips  and  noses,  with  dusky  faces,  throng  the  streets 
of  Keneh,  evidently  the  result  of  the  mingling  of 
the  two  races. 

Miscegenation,  here  as  in  America,  produces  a 
people  who  have  the  worst  features  of  their  pro- 
genitors, though  mentally  they  are  by  no  means 
inferior  to  the  average  Cairene.  But  then  one 
hazards  little  in  saying  so  much,  for  the  modern 
Egyptians  have  intellects  of  the  most  feeble  descrip- 
tion. 

We  were  taken  to  a place  where  pottery  is  made, 
and  saw  the  simple  rapid  process.  A clay  possessing 


TO  LUXOR. 


205 

properties  very  well  adapted  for  water  and  wine  jars 
exists  in  great  quantity  near  Keneh.  It  is  dampened 
and  softened  with  water,  and  with  the  aid  of  a little 
wooden  wheel  turned  by  the  feet,  the  workman 
takes  a shapeless  mass  of  clay,  and  in  about  a minute 
makes  a beautiful  jar,  which  is  dried  afterwards  in 
the  sun,  and  is  very  light  and  strong.  They  make 
a class  of  jars  porous  at  the  bottom  from  the  inside, 
so  that  water  slowly  percolates  through.  The  con- 
sequent evaporation  and  moisture  thus  keep  the 
water  very  cool,  and  in  the  hottest  months  a draught 
of  clear  Nile  water  from  one  of  these  amphorse  is  as 
refreshing  as  the  nectar  of  the  gods.  A good  part 
of  Egypt  is  supplied  from  Keneh,  and  we  continually 
met  on  our  way  up  large  Nile  boats  loaded  with 
nothing  but  these  pottery  jars,  which  were  being 
transported  to  Cairo  and  Alexandria.  Even  Syria 
buys  its  water  vessels  from  Egypt,  and,  in  fact,  all 
over  the  Levant  they  are  in  demand. 

We  left  the  bustling  active  little  town,  more  like 
an  American  village  in  a new  State  than  one  on  the 
sleepy  Nile,  and  with  a good  wind  sailed  up  the 
river.  In  the  morning  I awoke  early,  and  from  my 
cabin  window  saw  frowning  down  on  me  from  the 
high  river-banks  the  lofty  columns  of  Luxor’s  temple. 


2o6 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

THEBES. 

Three  thousand  years  ago  Thebes  was  the  largest 
city  in  the  world,  extending  some  miles  on  both 
banks  of  the  river  back  to  the  hill  ranges  that 
stood  on  the  edge  of  the  desert.  It  was  practically 
the  capital  of  all  the  regions  of  the  earth  then 
known.  The  Pharaoh  received  tribute  from  as  far 
north  as  the  Black  Sea,  from  Arabia,  Libya,  and 
Khartoum  on  the  Nile.  Egypt  had  not  many  more 
people  within  its  defined  boundaries  than  it  has  to- 
day. Nor  were  the  numbers  of  those  who  lived  in 
Syria  and  Asia  Minor  very  great.  But  two  or  three 
cities  or  towns,  with  sufficient  inhabitants  to  justify 
walls  and  temples,  existed.  The  tribes  were  all 
pastoral  and  migratory,  like  the  Bedouins  now,  and 
did  not  for  some  centuries  later  settle  down  and 
form  kingdoms  and  empires  and  build  Babylons. 
Europe  was  almost  unknown.  The  Bosphorus  and 
Dardanelles  were  deep  rapid  channels  that  the 
ancients  dared  not  cross.  Cyprus  only  of  the  Greek 


THEBES. 


207 


Archipelago  was  familiar,  because  it  was  so  very 
large  and  near  to  the  mainland  of  Syria.  There- 
fore it  was  seized,  and  became  an  appanage  of  Egypt 
at  a very  early  date.  Greece  was  unheard  of  in 
Egypt  in  the  days  of  Thebes’  greatest  glory. 
Rameses  fought  and  marched  near  to  or  over  the 
plains  of  Troy  three  hundred  years  before  Ilium 
was  captured  by  Agamemnon.  Who  knows  the 
history  of  Greece  anterior  to  the  Trojan  War  ? The 
Greeks  thought  it  most  marvellous  to  sail  as  far 
from  home  as  Troy,  though  hardly  ever  out  of  sight 
of  land.  Egypt  was  very  much  more  distant,  and 
there  was  no  land  from  continent  to  continent.  The 
Egyptians  were  very  clannish,  and  neither  emigrated 
themselves  nor  would  permit  foreigners  to  live  in 
nor  to  visit  their  country.  They  brought  captives 
to  Egypt,  and  put  them  to  work  on  the  public 
edifices,  but  these  captives  died  at  their  toil.  They 
never  went  back. 

The  great  antiquity  of  the  Egyptians  over 
other  peoples  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  they 
were  highly  civilized,  while  all  other  countries 
then  known  to  be  inhabited  were  savage  and  bar- 
barous. From  the  epoch  of  the  Pyramids  to 
that  of  the  Ramasseum,  a period  of  twenty-five 
hundred  years,  the  improvement  in  the  language 
and  sculptures  was  slight.  The  Pyramid  writers 
and  sculptors  were  a little  archaic  in  their  work 


208 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


then,  but  they  must  have  had  the  same  rules  and 
measurements  for  designing  and  drawing  as  the 
architects  of  Queen  Hatasou.  The  temples  built  at 
Karnak  by  Osurtasen  and  his  immediate  successors 
are  not  as  large  or  lofty  as  those  of  Amenhotep, 
Hatasou,  and  Seti,  who  flourished  fifteen  centuries 
later ; but  the  simple  lotus  capitals  of  the  twelfth 
dynasty  are  not  surpassed  in  attractive  design  by 
the  more  ornate  and  polished  stones  and  architecture 
of  the  later  Pharaohs.  When  Osurtasen  reigned, 
and  erected  the  obelisk  yet  standing  in  the  grain- 
fields  of  Heliopolis,  his  Egypt  was  our  modern 
Egypt  in  dimensions,  while  Rameses  had  the  spoils 
of  many  nations  and  the  forced  labour  of  the  Jews 
to  contribute  to  his  exaltation.  Therefore,  in  the 
structures  that  these  mighty  men  of  the  past  have 
left  on  earth  to  remind  us  that  they  have  been,  we 
must  not  award  too  much  praise  to  the  one  and  too 
little  to  the  other.  The  greater  Pharaohs  remem- 
bered the  beginning  and  the  future  in  their  monu- 
ments. These  superb  temples,  after  so  many  ages, 
are  still  unequalled  in  the  larger  and  more  populous 
modern  world,  and  these  ruins,  mellowed  by  cen- 
turies and  centuries  of  Egyptian  sunshine,  are  as 
dreamlike  memories  of  another  sphere.  In  the 
building  of  a church  to  his  gods,  the  Pharaoh  also 
glorified  himself,  for  he  was  the  only  worshipper 
within  its  sacred  walls  except  the  priests.  The 


THEBES. 


209 


shadowed  interior,  with  the  grand  and  majestic 
invocations  to  the  gods  of  Egypt  cut  deep  into  the 
solid  stone  walls  and  pillars  ; the  beautiful  sculptures, 
with  the  simple  drapery  and  the  many-coloured 
pigments,  were  only  for  his  eye  and  worship,  and  it 
was  he,  and  he  alone,  who  offered  the  fragrant  and 
aromatic  incense  from  the  land  of  Punt  to  Osiris, 
Anubis,  Isis,  and  others  of  the  pantheon,  in  the 
sanctuary  of  the  temple,  the  Holy  of  Holies. 

As  he  piled  massive  stones  on  heavy  foundations, 
he  built  not  only  for  the  gods  and  religion,  but  also 
for  the  future.  For  they  were  fashioned  as  for  all 
time.  One  might  suppose  that  some  of  them — 
Rameses,  for  instance — had  the  idea  of  Erostratus  in 
their  brain,  and  resolved  that  in  future  centuries 
and  in  other  lands  they  should  not  be  forgotten. 

The  ruins  of  Karnak  are  what  is  left  of  the  almost 
consecutive  labours  of  two  thousand  years.  For 
Osurtasen  commenced  to  build  there,  we  know,  about 
3000  B.C.,  and  there  were  older  edifices  before  his 
time,  as  an  inscription  found  amid  the  fallen  blocks 
tells  us.  Shesonk,  who  comes  down  to  a period  later 
than  the  Trojan  War  and  twenty  centuries  after 
Osurtasen  I.,  has  left  on  pylons  of  his  own  construc- 
tion a hieroglyphic  statement  of  battles  and  conquests 
in  Palestine.  Thebes  was  never  besieged  nor 
devastated  by  an  enemy  during  all  this  time,  though 
it  did  not  remain  the  capital.  It  was  only  in  the 


210 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


Ptolemaic  age,  and  afterwards,  in  the  days  of  the 
Christian  vandals,  that  the  glorious  old  Egyptian  city 
suffered  outrage  and  mutilation. 

These  centuries  of  unsullied  splendour  embrace  a 
greater  period  than  that  from  the  foundation  of 
Rome  to  the  discovery  of  America ; longer  than  the 
Christian  religion  has  existed,  and  more  years  than 
have  expired  since  Britain’s  early  aborigines  lived  in 
caves  and  were  clothed  with  the  skins  of  wild  beasts. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  in  this  climate  which 
destroys  nothing,  and  with  each  Pharaoh  emulating 
the  preceding  Pharaoh,  even  the  ruins  unburied  to- 
day inspire  the  most  profound  emotion  and  admira- 
tion ? The  immense  columns  cannot  be  numbered ; 
the  noble  walls  rising  up  and  gradually  inclining 
inwards,  as  in  all  Egyptian  pylons,  make  us  fancy 
that  it  could  only  have  been  giants  who  placed  them 
there.  The  blocks  of  stone  had  to  be  very  heavy 
and  massive,  in  order  to  support  and  sustain  each 
other,  as  the  Egyptians  did  not  dig  deep  for  the 
substructure.  The  ground  was  very  level  and  soft, 
for  the  Nile  swept  over  the  land  where  the  temples 
were  situated  every  year.  They  could  not  find  a 
rocky  bottom,  perhaps,  for  fifty  feet.  Therefore  they 
excavated  only  to  a depth  of  six  or  eight  feet  beneath 
the  surface,  threw  in  gravel,  and  carefully  laid  down 
flat  slabs  weighing  tons.  On  these  were  super- 
imposed other  like  slabs,  with  mortar  and  lime 


SU1EYMAN. 


To  face  page  210. 


THEBES. 


21 1 


between,  and  above  this  foundation  the  temple  and 
walls  arose. 

Annually  did  the  Nile  come  up  to  the  pylons  or 
exterior  walls,  but  these  kept  the  water  out,  and  the 
sanctuaries  were  for  several  weeks  in  each  year  little 
islands,  with  the  rest  of  the  city  and  the  whole 
country  round  about  overflowed.  Now  that  portions 
of  the  pylons  have  fallen,  the  inundations  cover 
Karnak  as  well  as  the  rest,  and  they  indicate  a point 
on  Queen  Hatasou’s  obelisk  fully  ten  feet  from  the 
base  which  was  touched  by  the  Nile  high  water 
some  years  ago.  One  would  think  that  this  con- 
tinued washing  would  gradually  loosen  the  founda- 
tion and  cause  the  mass  to  fall,  but  it  does  not  seem 
to  have  done  so.  The  water  rises  very  quietly  and 
softly,  and  goes  off  in  the  same  manner,  while  away 
from  the  river  channel  proper  there  is  very  little 
current. 

When  we  were  there,  right  in  the  midst  of  the 
towering  columns  sat  a gaunt,  angular,  spectacled 
and  keen-visaged  lady,  a very  New  England  old 
maid.  She  was  with  a couple  of  donkeys  and 
another  lady  who  must  have  been  her  sister.  They 
were  sketching.  Suleyman  was  with  me,  carrying 
his  gold-mounted  scimitar,  and  wearing  his  richly 
embroidered  costume,  for  we  had  paid  a visit  to  our 
consul  that  morning.  I drifted  away  alone,  taking 
some  photographs,  and  presently  Suleyman  came  up 
in  a high  state  of  indignation. 


212 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


“ What  is  the  matter,  Suleyman  ? ” I asked. 

“ Why,  sir,  those  ladies  wanted  to  draw  my  por- 
trait, and  offered  five  piastres  if  I would  pose  fifteen 
minutes.” 

I knew  that  to  Suleyman,  especially  on  this  trip, 
five  piastres  or  even  fifty  were  very  little,  judging 
by  the  way  he  squandered  our  funds  on  what  he 
told  us  were  necessary  expenses  when  the  Consul- 
General  of  America  visited  his  subordinate  officials 
on  the  Nile.  How  much  he  retained  we  never 
wanted  to  know.  We  were  afraid  even  to  think  of 
it.  Therefore  I had  to  laugh  when  asking  again — 
“Well,  what  did  you  do?  You  know  it  is  your 
nice  clothes  that  attract  them  as  well  as  yourself.” 

“ Do,  sir — do  ? Why,  I suppose  they  are  ladies  you 
know ; but  I told  them  that  you  were  not  going  to 
stop,  and  I had  to  leave  with  you.  Let  us  go  now, 
sir,  for  they  may  ask  me  again ; ” and  all  the  way  to 
the  boat  he  talked  scornfully  about  the  five  piastres, 
and  finally  said  they  could  not  be  Americans,  but 
English,  “ for  Americans  couldn’t  be  so  mean.” 

Next  day  there  were  some  races,  and  everybody 
went.  That  evening  on  the  dahabeeyeh,  Suleyman 
said,  “Those  ladies  spoke  to  me  again  to-day,  sir, 
and  seemed  to  want  to  talk  to  me.” 

“Did  they?  Well,  I suppose  you  had  a nice 
conversation  ? ” the  general  said. 

“ Oh  no,”  said  our  worthy.  “ You  see,  sir,  I don't 


THEBES. 


213 


know  who  they  are,  and  I can’t  talk  to  people  in 
public  to  whom  I have  not  been  introduced,  so  I 
kept  away  from  them.”  His  intense  indignation 
and  the  trepidation  that  he  evinced  with  regard  to 
the  two  pair  of  spectacled  eyes  made  us  roar  with 
laughter. 

But  he  was  invaluable  to  Ali  Murad  in  arranging 
the  grand  banquet  that  the  former  gave  us  one 
evening.  Ali  Murad  is  the  American  consul  at 
Thebes,  and  was  the  only  consul  that  we  had  met 
thus  far  on  the  Nile  who  was  not  a Copt — a true 
follower  of  Mahomet,  tall  and  thin  and  slightly 
stooping,  with  a good-natured  expression  on  his 
sallow  face.  He  had  held  his  official  position  for 
over  twenty  years,  and  was  fully  aware  of  his 
importance. 

His  son,  a young  man  of  about  twenty-five  years, 
assisted  his  father  in  the  duties  of  consul.  He  had 
been  educated  by  the  ubiquitous  American  mis- 
sionaries, who  have  a school  here,  and  so  spoke  a 
little,  a very  little,  English.  He  was  extremely  kind 
and  considerate  to  us,  placing  at  our  disposal  horses 
and  donkeys  with  attendants,  who  waited  all  day 
long  on  the  bank  of  the  river  above  our  boat. 

On  the  principle  that  a plain  face  is  an  index  to  a 
kind  heart,  Ali  Murad’s  son  was  too  good  for  this 
wicked  world.  For  he  was  not  an  Adonis — with 
one  eye  gone,  a strongly  pitted  face,  and  dark  rough 


2r4  EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 

skin.  His  mother  must  have  been  a Soudanese,  that 
is,  a cross  between  the  Arab  and  the  Ethiopian. 

The  dinner  was  preceded  in  the  soft  moonlight  by 
a salute  of  firearms.  The  artillery  embraced  four 
tremendous  big  pistols  of  last  century’s  make,  with 
flint-lock  triggers,  and  two  old  guns,  each  being 
fully  two  yards  long,  which  looked  as  if  they  must 
have  been  found  in  some  one  of  the  tombs.  Suley- 
man and  young  Ali  Murad  discharged  them  with 
great  noise  and  smoke,  while  we  very  carefully  got 
out  of  the  way,  as  we  did  not  know  at  which  end 
they  were  more  dangerous.  The  banquet,  which 
was  furnished  with  plenty  of  wines,  although  Ali 
Murad  and  his  son,  as  orthodox  Moslems,  did  not 
drink  a drop,  was  followed  by  a dance  of  the  Gha- 
wazee. 

It  is  usual  in  Upper  Egypt  to  entertain  guests 
with  a dance  after  dinner,  and  each  district  has 
certain  danseuses  who  have  a local  reputation.  Ali 
Murad’s  girls  gave  us  an  exhibition  which  was  very 
decorous  and  dull,  for  there  were  several  American 
ladies  present  who  were  asked  over  from  Cook’s 
steamers.  We  met  also  the  British  consul,  on  whom 
we  called  next  day.  He  showed  us  a book  contain- 
ing interesting  autographs,  including  that  of  C.  G. 
Gordon.  Gordon  wrote  it  when  last  at  Thebes,  in 
1885,  on  his  way  to  Khartoum,  whence  he  never 
returned. 


THEBES. 


215 


Some  people  in  Egypt  hold  views  of  Gordon’s 
character  different  from  those  expressed  by  Lord 
Wolseley  and  others.  Wolseley  once  wrote  that 
General  Robert  Lee,  of  our  Civil  War,  and  Gordon 
were  the  only  two  soldiers  he  ever  knew  whose 
singleness  and  purity  of  purpose  were  untram- 
melled by  thought  or  care  of  the  politicians.  To 
one  who  reads  Gordon’s  last  journal  written  at 
Khartoum,  and  his  despatches  to  Baring  at  Cairo,  it 
might  seem  as  if  he  was  almost  a fanatic.  Of  per- 
sonal fear  he  had  none,  and  no  one  could  be  more 
recklessly  unselfish ; but  he  would  have  made  a 
better  devotee  in  a Trappist  monastery  than  an 
English  general  ruling  alien  races.  He  seems  to 
have  known  the  Bible  by  heart,  and  was,  if  one 
might  so  say,  a bigoted  Christian,  yet  he  had  the 
highest  esteem  for  the  degraded  sensual  Moslem 
faith.  I have  heard  that  he  would  shut  himself  up 
in  the  private  chambers  of  his  palace  at  Khartoum 
for  two  or  three  days  at  a time,  with  a Bible  and 
writing-paper,  neither  eating  nor  speaking  to  any 
one  in  the  interval.  This  might  explain  some  of  the 
vagaries  that  are  so  palpable  in  his  last  published 
writings.  He  lost  the  Soudan  and  his  own  life, 
when  he  might  have  saved  both.  He  acted  with 
the  devotion,  chivalry,  and  singleness  of  a Chevalier 
Bayard,  but  not  with  the  wisdom  and  calm  foresight 
that  should  actuate  the  governor  of  a vast  territory 


2l6 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


and  turbulent  dangerous  tribes.  He  sent  eleven 
telegrams  in  one  day  from  Khartoum  to  Cairo  to 
Sir  Evelyn  Baring,  until  the  latter  finally  telegraphed 
Gordon  to  sit  down  and  try  to  embody  what  he 
wanted  in  one  telegram,  and  it  would  be  done.  He 
kept  continually  asking  for  instructions,  and  at  the 
same  time  implied  that  he  would  only  obey  those 
that  he  indicated  ought  to  be  given  him.  Before 
the  expedition  was  sent  to  rescue  him,  he  might 
have  left  Khartoum,  but  he  said  that  he  did  not 
want  to  go,  and  would  not  go  and  leave  to  their 
fate  the  native  population  under  his  charge. 

One  who  has  read  the  story  of  Khartoum  carefully 
will  have  a high  regard  for  Gordon’s  singular  per- 
sonal qualities,  but  will  wonder  how  statesmen  ever 
came  to  entrust  him  with  such  a delicate,  difficult, 
and  important  post.  We  can  easily  make  heroes  of 
men  who  bravely  die  without  deserting  their  place, 
but  it  is  well  to  consider  also  whether  they  died 
wisely  as  well  as  bravely.  Will  Gordon’s  body  ever 
be  found  and  brought  down  the  Nile  as  were  those 
of  Deir  el-Bahari,  seven  or  eight  years  ago  ? Egypt, 
like  the  sea,  gives  up  its  treasures  after  holding 
them  closely  clasped  in  its  rocky  embrace  for  cen- 
turies. The  story  of  Deir  el-Bahari  is  a romance  of 
the  Nile. 

Two  miles  from  the  river,  high  up  in  the  cliffs, 
and  far  above  the  temple  of  Queen  Ilutasou,  the  first 


THEBES. 


217 


woman  whose  name  appears  in  historical  annals  as  a 
ruler,  is  a little  gorge  that  ends  abruptly  at  the  base 
of  the  steepest  precipice.  All  the  tombs  of  Thebes 
are  on  the  edge  of  the  valleys,  just  where  the  hills 
begin  to  rise  from  the  sand.  It  is  a uniform  custom, 
and  no  one  ever  thought  of  looking  up  on  the  moun- 
tain-side. One  burning  day  in  1878  an  Arab  was 
crossing  the  hills,  and  came  down  to  the  valley  by 
this  rocky  gorge  as  the  shortest  way.  His  foot 
slipped,  and  he  rolled  down  into  a pile  of  sand.  It 
seemed  strange  to  him  that  so  much  sand  should  be 
up  there,  far  from  the  plain  beneath.  He  dug  a little, 
and  found  more  sand  instead  of  the  rocky  bottom 
that  should  have  been  below.  Satisfied  that  he  had 
discovered  a new  tomb  or  something  of  value,  he 
told  a few  of  his  tried  friends  who  lived  with  him  in 
the  little  village  built  among  the  ruins  of  the  temple 
of  Medinet-Abou. 

Ten  of  them  gathered  together  and  excavated  the 
sand  secretly  every  night,  for  the  museum  authori- 
ties claimed  everything  found,  and  would  only 
permit  the  village  Arabs  to  dig  where  they  directed. 
At  the  end  of  a month  they  had  gone  down  fifty 
feet  and  found  nothing.  The  shaft  was  circular  in 
shape,  eight  feet  in  diameter,  and  was  cut  down  all 
the  way  in  solid  rock.  Two  of  the  men,  who  were 
brothers,  had  sharp  eyes,  and  noticed  that  about  ten 
feet  above  the  depth  where  they  were  working  one 


2 1 8 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


part  of  the  rocky  side  of  the  well  did  not  seem  to 
be  just  like  all  the  rest.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  the  shaft  was  filled  only  with  sand,  and  that 
when  this  was  taken  up  in  baskets  and  pulled  to 
the  surface  with  ropes,  the  excavation  was  left  ex- 
posed as  it  was  first  made.  The  two  brothers  per- 
suaded the  rest  of  the  party  that,  as  they  had  long 
passed  the  point  where  experience  with  other  tombs 
told  them  that  bodies  were  usually  interred,  it  was 
useless  to  work  any  longer,  for  evidently  the  con- 
tents of  the  hole  had  been  removed  long  before.  The 
sand  taken  out  was  thrown  back  again  for  ten  or 
twelve  feet,  some  of  it  scattered  around,  and  the 
work  abandoned.  They  might  have  filled  it  up  again, 
but  that  was  a labour,  and  the  winds  of  a few  years 
would  doubtless  cover  it  from  view  as  before.  The 
two  Arabs  waited  three  long  months,  so  that  no 
suspicion  could  possibly  be  awakened ; and  one 
obscure,  starless  night,  stole  up  the  steep  bluffs 
and  carefully  climbed  down  the  sharp  rocky  sides 
of  the  well  to  the  bottom.  With  the  aid  of  a little 
cotton-wick  floating  in  oil,  which  could  not  be  seen 
from  the  top  of  the  shaft,  they  looked  carefully 
around.  Throwing  on  one  side  the  sand  that  had 
fallen  down  since  the  work  was  stopped,  they  soon 
came  to  that  part  of  the  well  which  they  had  noted. 
The  sand  was  brushed  away,  the  rocks  tapped  ami 
Bounded,  and  very  soon  a large  segment  of  the  wall 


deir  el-bahari.  To  face  page  218. 


THEBES. 


219 


seemed  to  be  a little  loose.  Presently  it  yielded  to 
a slight  push,  opening  inward,  and  disclosed  a 
narrow  passage,  not  high  enough  for  a man  to 
stand  upright,  and  three  feet  wide. 

The  adventurous  brothers,  crouching  down,  ad- 
vanced in  this  tunnel,  with  its  square  sides,  two 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  right  into  the  heart  of 
the  mountain,  through  the  solid  limestone  forma- 
tion. Thence  they  emerged  into  a large  rectangular 
chamber,  twenty  feet  high,  filled  to  the  top  with 
the  coffins  of  the  silent  dead  of  ages  and  ages  before. 
A little  examination  told  them  that  the  royal  re- 
mains of  some  Pharaohs  lay  in  that  silent  cavern, 
for  the  coffin  heads  were  crowned  by  the  asp,  which 
the  Arabs  knew  was  the  symbol  of  Egyptian  royalty. 
Gathering  up  a few  of  the  precious  relics  of 
antiquity  that  covered  the  smooth  rocky  floor,  they 
stole  quietly  out  as  if  the  dead  could  hear  them, 
carefully  replacing  the  large  stone  at  the  entrance 
of  the  tunnel  in  its  original  position. 

During  three  years  the  brothers  guarded  the  secret 
well,  going  down  to  their  treasure-house  but  seldom, 
and  taking  such  precautions  that,  though  the  other 
Arabs  knew  that  they  must  have  made  some  great 
discovery,  yet  they  could  never  find  where  it  was. 
For  the  two  men  gradually  sold  to  travellers  and 
tourists  some  of  these  antiquities,  and  it  was  this 
fact  that  at  last  led  to  the  whole  story  coming  out. 


220 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


The  directors  of  the  museum  at  Cairo  occasionally 
had  shown  to  them  by  these  travellers  purchases 
made  from  the  Arabs  in  Upper  Egypt,  with  the 
view  of  learning  if  they  were  genuine.  Once  in 
a while  some  relic  that  had  only  belonged  to  kiugs 
was  submitted  for  their  inspection  ; and  from  the 
number  of  these  that  appeared  the  directors  were 
convinced  that  a royal  tomb  had  been  unearthed 
somewhere.  Discreet  inquiries  were  made,  and  our 
two  worthies  at  Thebes  were  finally  selected  as  the 
ones  from  whom  the  articles  came.  In  fine  old 
Oriental  fashion  they  were  committed  to  prison  by 
the  governor  of  the  district  and  placed  in  solitary 
confinement. 

Threats  and  promises  were  made  in  turn,  and, 
after  a month’s  imprisonment  without  seeing  each 
other,  fearing  that  the  other  would  divulge  the 
secret  first,  one  of  them  finally  said  he  did  know  of 
royal  mummies,  and  would  conduct  the  authorities 
to  the  place.  Brugsch  Bey,  the  savant  of  the 
Egyptian  Museum,  who  has  been  in  Egypt  over 
twenty  years,  was  telegraphed  for  from  Cairo,  and 
on  his  coming  the  Arab  was  released.  He  guided 
the  party  to  the  cliff-side,  down  the  shaft,  and  along 
the  dark  tunnel,  to  the  large  and  lofty  chamber  at  the 
end,  where  were  the  mighty  dead  of  Egypt.  For 
Brugsch  Bey,  who  reads  the  hieroglyphics  as  one 
reads  English,  at  once  recognized  on  the  coffin  the 


THEBES. 


221 


names  of  Thothmes  III.,  the  great  conqueror,  who 
had  led  his  armies  everywhere;  Seti  I.,  the  glorious 
father  of  Rameses ; and  Rameses  II.  himself,  who 
was  the  Caesar  and  Alexander  combined  of  Egyptian 
history.  Brugsch  told  me,  when  relating  the  find, 
that  he  was  nearly  overcome  with  emotion,  and  had 
to  go  out  in  the  open  sunshine  for  a couple  of  hours, 
before  he  could  control  himself  sufficiently  to  re-enter. 
But,  when  he  did,  he  saw  that  the  room  was  filled 
up  to  the  roof  with  coffins,  all  of  them  containing 
royal  mummies.  The  Arabs,  in  their  desire  to  take 
the  ornaments  known  to  exist  inside  the  mummy 
linings,  had  opened  some  of  the  coffins,  and  the  un- 
wrapped bodies  lay  along  the  floor. 

Fortunately,  this  had  not  occurred  to  any  of  the 
Pharaohs,  but  only  to  the  princes  and  princesses. 
In  two  days  and  nights,  by  the  help  of  the  village 
Arabs,  thirty-seven  bodies  were  transported  to  the 
little  museum  steamer  on  the  Nile.  Brugsch 
embarked,  and  the  Pharaohs,  with  their  sons  and 
daughters,  who,  centuries  and  centuries  ago,  had 
traversed  the  Nile  many  times,  were  once  again 
floating  downward  on  the  mysterious  river.  The 
Bedouins  came  to  the  shore  as  the  vessel  passed  by, 
and  saluted  the  dead  with  firing  of  guns,  while  the 
women  sent  forth  loud  wails  of  sorrow,  as  for  some 
loved  one  who  had  died  yesterday.  All  the  mummies 
lie  now  at  the  Gizeh  Museum,  near  Cairo,  in  a lofty 


222 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


chamber  devoted  only  to  them,  as  was  the  cave 
where  they  slept  so  long  undisturbed  at  Thebes. 
They  were  occupants  of  palaces  when  living,  so 
even  now  their  residence  is  a home  built  for  kings, 
for  the  Gizeh  Museum  was  formerly  a magnificent 
palace,  erected  by  Ismail  Pasha  twenty  or  thirty 
years  ago.  An  examination  showed  that  between 
the  date  of  the  decease  of  the  first  and  the  last  of  the 
thirty-seven  mummies,  seven  centuries  had  elapsed. 

When  the  body  of  ftameses  was  unrolled  they 
learned  also,  from  the  hieroglyphics  on  the  linen, 
that  it  had  been  removed  and  opened  no  less  than 
three  times.  It  is,  therefore,  believed  that  a troubled 
era  had  come  upon  Egypt,  and  that  the  central 
power  at  Thebes  was  unable  to  prevent  the  possible 
desecration  of  the  royal  tombs  by  robbers  or  enemies. 
Some  loyal  friends  of  the  dead — probably  priests, 
and  the  family  whose  special  duty  it  was  to  embalm 
and  care  for  the  bodies  of  the  royal  race — must 
have  secretly  dug  the  shaft  and  passage  to  the  hall 
where  the  mummies  were  found.  Then  they  must 
have  carried  the  coffins,  with  their  contents,  from 
the  valley  of  the  tombs  of  the  kings,  where  they 
were  first  deposited,  over  the  mountain  and  down 
its  slope  to  the  place  in  which  they  were  found. 
This  was  a distance  of  two  miles,  and  it  was  most 
likely  done  in  the  dead  of  night,  for  on  secrecy 
depended  the  preservation  of  the  bodies  from  the 


THEBES. 


22  3 


spoiler.  The  chamber  and  shaft  at  Deir  el-Bahari 
must  also  have  been  excavated  at  night,  and  in  re- 
moving the  bodies  they  left  the  sarcophagi  behind, 
and  only  transported  the  simple  modern  coffins  which 
had  been  enclosed  within  the  solid  granite  or  ala- 
baster. There  were  two  reasons  for  this.  In  the 
first  place,  it  would  have  been  very  difficult  for  the 
few  members  of  one  family  to  carry  the  stone  coffins  ; 
and  again,  leaving  the  sarcophagi  in  the  tombs 
where  first  placed,  would  make  the  Egyptians  sup- 
pose that  the  mummies  were  within  untouched. 

The  situation  of  the  shaft  at  Deir  el-Bahari  was 
entirely  away  from  the  necropolis  of  Thebes,  and 
in  such  a desolate  spot,  so  far  removed  from  the 
plain,  that  none  would  suspect  that  beneath  their 
feet  lay  the  mighty  royal  dead  of  Egypt’s  greatest 
days.  The  memory  of  these  Pharaohs  will  exist 
long  after  their  black  mummies,  that  now  rest 
serenely  in  their  narrow  walls  at  Gizeh,  have  rotted 
and  wasted  away. 

Down  below  in  the  sunny  valley,  and  away  from 
the  shiny  sands  that  form  a golden  shroud  to  those 
beneath,  are  the  Colossi.  Of  all  the  ruined  and 
existing  temples  and  monuments  of  the  past  that 
surround  and  encompass  Thebes,  they  are  the  most 
impressive.  They  seem  brooding  in  sullen  and 
silent  contemplation,  and  their  perpetual  frown  is 
only  removed  when  Ammon-Ra  throws  his  brilliant 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


224 

colours  over  their  tremendous  forms  and  stony  faces. 
The  two  sitting  statues  are  only  twenty-two  feet 
apart,  and  between  the  giant  figures  the  Pharaohs’ 
processions  used  to  wend  to  the  Sun  Temple  in  the 
rear,  which  has  now  completely  vanished.  There 
is  absolutely  nothing  left  to  indicate  its  existence, 
unless  it  be  four  or  five  large  flat  granite  blocks 
that  lie  prone  and  partially  covered  in  the  earth. 
Yet  the  whole  distance  back  from  the  Colossi  to  the 
cliffs  that  mark  the  boundary  of  the  valley,  a mile 
or  more,  was,  we  are  told,  covered  with  temples  and 
palaces  devoted  solely  to  the  use  of  the  Pharaoh  and 
the  gods.  Now  two  or  three  wells  are  scattered 
over  the  flat  interval,  and  the  soil  raises  good  lentils 
and  wheat  crops  every  year.  The  Nile  covers  the 
whole  valley,  and  ascends  the  pedestals  of  the  mono- 
liths a yard  or  so  each  inundation.  I examined  the 
bases  carefully,  and  so  far  as  I could  determine  they 
were  not  more  than  ten  feet  below  the  surface,  and 
half  of  that  has  probably  been  the  increment  of  the 
river.  They  were  erected  byAmenhotep  III.,  thirty- 
four  hundred  years  ago,  in  front  of  the  avenue  of 
sphinxes  that  led  to  his  temple. 

The  Colossi — which  are  each  shaped  out  of  a single 
granite  stone,  pedestal  and  all — have  never  fallen, 
nor  have  the  shallow  bases  been  undermined,  despite 
tins  annual  rising  of  the  Nile.  One  of  them,  that 
to  the  north,  is  the  vocal  statue  of  Mem  non,  written 


THEBES. 


225 

of  by  Strabo  and  other  Roman  historians.  It  is 
much  more  broken  about  the  body  than  its  brother 
to  the  south ; yet,  even  when  I was  there,  an  Arab 
boy  scaled  it  like  a snake  and  struck  it  near  the 
left  shoulder  with  a small  hammer,  making  it  re- 
spond with  a curious  sound  that  might  have  been 
sighing  or  singing,  or  both.  The  last  vision  of  the 
west  bank  of  Thebes  that  I saw  in  the  morning  as 
we  left  on  our  voyage  homeward,  was  the  rising 
sun,  shining  softly  and  brightly  on  the  two  hoary 
faces  of  the  Colossi,  while  the  bodies  were  like 
immense  shadows  below. 


Q 


226 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

DOWN  THE  NILE. 

I was  sorry  that  we  had  no  time  to  go  higher  up 
the  Nile  than  Thebes,  and  after  too  short  a stay 
there,  the  sails  were  taken  down  and  furled,  the  oars 
got  out,  and  we  made  ready  to  leave.  We  gave  a 
dinner  on  the  Vittoria,  on  the  eve  of  our  departure, 
to  some  friends.  Ismayin,  the  cook,  we  knew  to  be 
fond  of  mestiche,  so  while  travelling  all  the  liquors 
were  carefully  locked  away.  But  we  had  not 
reckoned  on  the  cafes  of  Thebes,  and  Ismayin  had. 
He  waited  until  the  last  day  for  our  last  big  dinner, 
and  then  showed  up  about  six  o’clock,  ready  to  fight 
the  whole  boat’s  crew,  Suleyman  and  Hassan  included. 

Our  guests  were  there,  but  not  the  beautiful 
turkey  that  had  hung  on  the  mast  that  morning, 
nor  the  fat  sheep  that  had  been  duly  sacrificed  at 
noon.  Half  the  sheep  was  gone,  none  knew  where, 
and  the  turkey  looked  as  if  it  had  fallen  from  the  top 
of  one  of  the  obelisks,  for  its  wings  and  one  leg  were 
missing.  Of  course,  no  one  could  say  who  was  the 


DOWN  THE  NILE. 


227 


culprit,  though  we  had  a faint  idea  that,  when 
Ismayin  was  mellow,  he  was  very  generous  in  giving 
away  other  people’s  goods  with  the  most  lordly  con- 
descension. 

However,  we  could  get  him  to  do  nothing,  and 
after  a vain  effort  he  sank  into  a corner  of  the  deck, 
with  the  mouthpiece  of  his  loved  narghileh  between 
his  lips,  muttering  something  about  “ Les  effendis 
Americains  sont  betes."  Suleyman  took  off  his 
embroidered  costume,  with  the  dangling  scimitar, 
that  he  carried,  so  far  as  I could  see,  only  to  frighten 
the  donkey-boys,  and  went  to  work.  Schuyler  and 
myself  apologized  to  our  guests,  and  the  former 
prepared  a dish,  consisting  mainly  of  canned  oysters 
and  red  pepper,  that  forced  tears  of  appreciation 
from  those  who  had  the  goodness  to  partake  of  it. 

However,  that  was  about  all  we  could  give  them, 
except  some  radishes  and  Arab  bread ; but,  with 
Oriental  courtesy  and  truthfulness,  they  expressed 
themselves  as  charmed  beyond  measure  with  our 
brilliant  banquet. 

After  the  lights  were  out,  we  deliberated  on  the 
fate  of  the  culprit  who  lay  calmly  reposing  in  the 
silver  moonlight.  I suggested  putting  him  ashore 
and  letting  him  walk  to  Cairo.  As  it  was  only  five 
hundred  miles,  and  he  did  not  need  new  shoes,  I 
thought  he  might  get  there  in  time  for  the  Ramadan. 
But  Schuyler  overruled  me,  chiefly  for  the  reason,  as 


228 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


I believed,  though  he  did  not  say  it,  that  he  was 
afraid  to  eat  any  more  of  his  own  cooking  after  the 
experience  of  the  evening. 

So  I did  all  that  was  left  for  me  to  do,  which  was 
to  advise  Suleyman  and  Hassan  to  awaken  the 
slumbering  Ismayin  with  sundry  buckets  of  water, 
for  he  might  catch  cold  if  he  slept  on  deck  all  night. 
This  was  a labour  of  love  to  those  two  worthies,  and 
they  did  so  at  once  with  unremitting  assiduity. 
Ismayin  arose  like  a Nile  crocodile,  and  went  to  his 
little  room,  followed  by  pious  exhortations  from  all 
the  crew.  He  did  not  get  drunk  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  voyage. 

As  we  had  left  Abydos  for  our  return  voyage,  we 
now  stopped  at  Ballianeh  and  rode  to  the  ruins, 
distant  from  the  river  six  or  seven  miles.  Abydos 
is  said  to  be  even  older  than  Memphis,  and  was  the 
original  capital  of  united  Egypt. 

They  locate  the  reunited  body  of  Osiris  here,  and 
Mariette  Bey  observed  before  he  died  that  excava- 
tions beneath  the  debris  which  lies  all  around  the 
temples  might  produce  more  interesting  results  than 
any  yet  discovered.  The  temple  has  been  exhumed 
from  the  desert  by  great  labour,  and  the  banks  of 
sand  even  now  rise  above  the  walls  on  three  sides. 
The  roof  still  exists  in  part,  and  the  columns  are 
nearly  all  standing.  There  is  hardly  an  inch  of  the 
columns  and  walls  but  is  touched  with  paintings  or 


THE  temple  OF  A15YDOS.  To  face  page  228. 


DOWN  THE  NILE. 


229 


writings.  As  usual,  our  friend  Raineses  shows  up 
here  to  good  advantage. 

His  father  began  and  nearly  completed  it,  but,  as 
Rameses  finished  the  structure,  he  took  all  the  glory 
to  himself.  He  had  his  father’s  name  written  in 
small  letters  in  obscure  chambers  and  places  where 
it  was  necessary.  But  his  own  cartouche  is  all  over 
the  temple,  and  his  colossal  figure,  seated  with  and 
worshipping  the  gods,  is  sculptured  several  times 
both  on  the  pylons  and  the  interior  walls. 

There  are  six  little  rooms  consecrated  each  to  a 
god  or  goddess,  as  Ammon-Ra,  Isis,  Anubis,  Set,  and 
Hathor,  including  one  room  to  the  Pharaohs.  The 
sculptures  in  each  of  these  small  chambers  are 
admirably  executed  and  wonderfully  fresh.  I have 
noticed  that  wherever  there  is  shadow,  the  colours 
remain  vivid  much  longer  than  in  the  light.  Pro- 
bably many  of  the  paintings  were  made  by  the 
artists  after  the  roof  was  on,  and  they  were  never 
exposed  to  daylight  until  within  the  past  three  or 
four  decades,  when  the  building  was  uncovered. 
The  roof  of  one  of  the  gods’  chambers  is  arched,  but 
it  was  made  so  by  simply  cutting  away  the  single 
massive  flat  granite  stone  that  rested  on  the  side 
walls. 

The  portion  of  the  temple  wall  representing 
Rameses  and  his  father  Seti  worshipping  the  seventy- 
six  Pharaohs  who  preceded  them  on  the  throne  of 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


230 

Egypt,  and  whose  names  are  given  in  detail,  is 
hardly  touched  by  time.  The  temple  is  thirteen 
hundred  years  older  than  the  one  at  Denderah,  but 
is  nearly  as  well  preserved.  They  look  much  alike, 
and  the  hieroglyphics  and  sculptures  are  very  similar 
on  both  temples,  except  that  those  of  the  older 
monument  are  infinitely  better  drawn  and  more 
attractive.  There  seems  to  be  greater  majesty  and 
power  in  Seti’s  temple  than  in  the  later  one, 
though  the  early  Roman  emperors  assisted  with  the 
wealth  of  Rome  in  its  completion. 

Like  Thebes  and  Denderah,  the  site  is  admirably 
chosen.  On  the  western  banks  of  the  river,  facing 
the  rising  sun,  the  priests  from  the  summit  of  the 
temples  looked  over  the  wide  valley  of  the  Nile  to  the 
distant  Arabian  hills.  At  each  of  these  old  cities 
the  river  makes  a long  bend  in  its  course — the  hills 
seem  to  recede  on  either  side  ; thus  the  plain  is  as 
large,  if  not  larger,  than  anywhere  else  in  Upper 
Egypt.  Every  foot  of  it  was  arable ; and  Abydos, 
for  instance,  was  built  on  land  reclaimed  from  the 
desert,  which  is  now  partly  covered  with  drifting 
sands.  The  temples  were  built  on  the  edge  of  the 
plain,  between  the  sand  and  the  soil,  between  the 
desert  and  the  valley. 

As  we  rode  over  the  plain  on  our  way  to  Grirgeh 
we  passed  a small  flock  of  the  sacred  ibis  birds. 
They  were  pure  spotless  white,  and  about  the  size  of 


DOWN  THE  NILE. 


231 


large  quail.  They  were  not  very  timid,  and  did  not 
fly  until  we  were  quite  near.  Even  to-day  they  are 
sacred  to  the  Egyptian,  as  he  never  thinks  of  killing 
them.  They  cannot  be  very  numerous,  for  I never 
saw  any  more  except  once  at  a little  village  when 
hunting,  and  I also  respected  the  holy  bird  of  the 
Pharaohs.  We  embarked  at  Girgeh,  and  early  next 
morning  left  Aklimin,  where  the  American  consul 
had  pressingly  invited  us  to  stop.  Though  but  a few 
miles  distant,  we  were  two  days  getting  there.  The 
north  wind  blew  so  strongly  up  the  river  that  the 
Vittoria  was  compelled  to  anchor  in  mid  stream  for 
several  hours  each  day.  One  never  sees  a Whitehall 
boat  or  light  skiff  on  the  Nile.  The  Arabs  know 
better  than  to  trust  themselves  on  its  turbulent 
waters  in  any  fragile  shell.  It  is  not  that  the  river 
itself  is  bad,  for  there  are  no  rapids  below  the  First 
Cataract,  and  the  stream,  though  swift,  is  wide  and 
steady.  But  strong  winds  spring  up  quite  sud- 
denly, especially  at  those  points  where  the  Arabian 
hills  come  down  to  the  river.  The  Nile  breaks 
into  little  waves  and  eddies,  and  it  might  be 
dangerous  to  venture  into  the  mile-wide  current  in 
a small  boat. 

The  Egyptians  build  heavy,  lumbering,  solid 
vessels,  with  very  high  bulwarks,  that  will  hold 
twenty  to  fifty  people.  In  them  they  carry  cattle, 
donkeys,  geese,  and  human  beings,  all  together,  and 


232 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


sail  merrily  up  and  down  tlie  river,  with  the  aid  of 
a big  lateen  sail,  made  after  the  pattern  of  the  one 
used  by  the  ancients.  There  is  never  any  trouble 
in  landing,  for  they  simply  run  the  barque  into  the 
sand  or  mud  as  near  the  shore  as  she  can  go ; and 
the  crew,  men,  and  animals,  jump  into  the  water 
and  make  to  land.  The  Nile  boatmen  are  am- 
phibious, and  not  one  is  ever  known  to  have  been 
drowned.  Indeed  the  reis  of  the  Vittoria  has  a 
most  unique  manner  of  punishing  a refractory 
member  of  his  crew.  "When  any  serious  trouble 
arises  while  sailing,  he  takes  the  man  by  the 
shoulders,  drops  him  into  the  river,  and  tells  him 
to  walk  ashore.  It  may  be  half  a mile  from  land, 
but  in  he  goes  all  the  same,  and  the  boat  never  stops. 
The  sailor  swims  to  the  bank,  and,  two  or  three 
days  afterwards,  very  likely  turns  up  at  some  point 
where  the  dahabeeyeh  has  stopped,  is  very  penitent, 
humble,  and  asks  to  be  taken  back.  After  one  or 
two  lessons  of  this  kind,  the  crew  became  quite 
docile,  and  I knew  then  why  our  reis  was  said  to  be 
one  of  the  best  captains  on  the  Nile.  He  finally 
brought  us  to  Akhmin,  and  anchored  near  an  old 
hulk  that  served  as  a wharf. 

The  consul  presently  descended  the  bank  to  the 
dahabeeyeh,  and  bade  us  welcome.  A Copt  as  usual. 
It  seems  to  me  that  if  changes  are  made,  Moslems 
should  be  selected  in  place  of  the  universal  Copt. 


DOWN  THE  NILE. 


233 


The  population  is  largely  Moslem,  and  it  would  be 
better  to  appoint  as  consuls  some  at  least  who  are 
of  that  religious  belief.  We  puzzled  our  brains  to 
understand  the  secret  of  the  anxiety  to  be  consul, 
for  there  were  many  applicants  besides  those  in  office, 
but  could  not  find  the  solution. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  consul  invited  us  to  land 
and  go  to  his  house.  We  crossed  the  old  hulk 
that  hid  the  bank  from  view  of  the  Vittoria,  and 
were  very  much  astonished  at  what  we  saw.  The 
worthy  old  man,  in  his  desire  to  receive  the  official 
representative  of  the  United  States  properly,  had 
spread  heavy  Persian  carpets  from  the  edge  of  the 
aforesaid  hulk  to  the  top  of  the  bank.  He  had 
also  erected  on  each  side  of  the  carpets  hangings 
of  red  silk,  surmounted  on  the  top  by  American  and 
Egyptian  flags,  placed  alternately  at  equal  distances. 
Small  balloons  of  various  hues,  bearing  lighted 
candles  within,  gave  additional  colour  and  bright- 
ness to  the  scene.  With  becoming  modesty  and 
gravity  we  slowly  ascended  the  gorgeous  pathway, 
Suleyman,  who  was  in  his  element,  leading  the  van. 
At  the  summit  we  were  greeted  by  the  governor 
of  the  city,  the  head  of  the  police,  and  several 
other  officials  whose  titles,  unfortunately,  I cannot 
remember.  Consul  Khyatt,  for  that  was  his  name, 
was  waiting  with  bowed  head  and  beaming  visage 
to  greet  the  great  man. 


234 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


After  the  first  salutations,  Arabian  horses  and 
white  donkeys  were  led  forward.  Schuyler,  as 
became  one  who  had  to  carry  the  honour  of  our 
country  on  his  back,  had  corresponding  amplitude 
of  body,  and,  as  I have  said,  it  usually  took  three 
men  and  a chair  to  successfully  mount  him  on  the 
average  donkey.  In  this  instance,  however,  while 
the  men  were  there  in  abundance,  the  chair  was  not. 
The  old  Egyptian  capability  of  lifting  heavy  sub- 
stances without  breakage  seems  to  have  been  lost  by 
their  degenerate  descendants,  and  it  became  a serious 
problem  whether  the  United  States  was  to  walk  or 
ride  to  the  consular  mansion.  I suggested  that,  as 
the  donkey  could  not  carry  him,  he  ought  to  carry 
the  donkey,  so  that  in  some  regards  the  demands 
of  etiquette  would  be  fulfilled.  Finally,  some  wise 
man  led  the  peaceful  animal  a little  down  the  bank, 
and,  with  two  men  on  the  lower  side  to  see  that  the 
donkey  did  not  topple  over,  every  one  of  the  United 
States  mounted. 

The  procession,  led  by  Suleyman  in  white  gloves, 
scarlet  dress,  and  fierce  mustachios,  and  followed 
by  a number  of  police  and  awe-struck  Arabs,  went 
through  the  small  dirty  lanes  to  the  consul’s  resi- 
dence. Just  as  we  crossed  the  threshold  of  the 
house  a cow  was  slaughtered,  and  her  blood  ran  by 
and  over  the  door-sill.  The  body  was  at  once  cut 
into  pieces  and  distributed  among  the  poor  of  the 


DOWN  THE  NILE. 


235 


town,  thus  complying  with  the  laws  both  of  hospi- 
tality and  charity. 

The  dinner  was  in  the  French  style.  The  consul 
told  us  quite  frankly  that  he  did  not  ask  us  to  stop 
on  our  way  up  the  river,  because  neither  in  his 
house  nor  in  Aklimin  were  there  any  dinner  knives 
and  forks,  so  he  had  sent  to  Cairo  for  them,  and  they 
had  only  come  the  day  before  our  arrival.  Yet  he 
was  very  wealthy,  owning  three  thousand  feddans  or 
acres  of  land  worth  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre, 
besides  a number  of  large  stone-built  houses,  with 
gardens  attached,  that  he  rented  for  about  a thou- 
sand dollars  each  every  year.  His  nephew,  George 
Khyatt,  who  had  been  educated  in  a French  school 
at  Cairo,  was  a young  man  of  exquisite  courtesy, 
and  possessed  of  considerable  intelligence.  He  told 
us  that  the  taxes  were  entirely  too  much  for  the 
fellaheen  to  pay. 

“ Why,  they  have  paid  them  fully,”  said  Schuyler. 

“ Yes,”  replied  George,  “ but  let  me  tell  you 
something.  Two  years  ago  we  had  a ‘ low  Nile,’ 
and  last  year  a ‘ high  Nile.’  Therefore,  the  crops 
were  poor,  for  there  was  first  too  little  water  and 
then  too  much.  This  year  we  have  a ‘ good  Nile,’ 
and  consequently  fair  crops ; but  we  shall  not 
garner  them  for  two  or  three  months  yet.  In  the 
mean  time,  Riaz  Pasha,  the  prime  minister,  has  not 
abated  one  piastre  of  the  full  taxes  due  for  the  two 


236 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


bad  years.  Good  camels  are  valued  at  a hundred 
dollars,  but  the  poor  peasants  are  selling  them  for 
fifty  or  sixty  dollars.” 

“ Why  is  that  ? ” I asked. 

“ Because,”  said  George,  “ they  know  that  if  they 
do  not  pay  the  tax  levied  by  the  Government,  not 
only  on  every  acre  of  land,  but  also  on  each  donkey, 
camel,  and  even  date  tree  in  their  possession,  that 
the  tax-gatherers  will  levy  on  the  live  stock  and  sell 
them.  When  the  officers  add  expenses,  few  piastres 
are  returned  to  the  fellah  for  his  beloved  cattle,  and, 
in  order  to  cultivate  his  fields,  he  has  to  borrow 
money  from  the  usurers,  and  pay  as  much  as  two 
per  cent,  per  month.” 

“ What  is  the  remedy  ? ” observed  Schuyler. 

George  answered,  “There  is  but  one  remedy.  The 
debt  will  have  to  be  reduced.  We  can’t  pay  the 
taxes  in  Upper  Egypt.  Down  in  the  Delta,  where 
they  have  a fine  system  of  canals  and  raise  five 
crops  in  two  years,  the  charges  can  be  paid.  But 
here,  where  we  have  to  depend  on  the  Nile  direct, 
without  any  canals,  we  can  have  but  one  crop 
annually,  and  that  is  mostly  wheat,  for  sugar-cane 
doesn’t  seem  to  grow  very  well  in  this  section. 
Besides,”  he  added,  “ it  will  always  be  so,  until  some 
change  is  made.  Egypt  only  received  about  forty 
dollars  on  each  hundred  dollars  that  she  now  owes 
and  has  to  pay  interest  upon.  Ismail  himself  only 


DOWN  THE  NILE. 


237 


got  about  two-thirds  of  the  sum  that  Egypt  borrowed. 
The  difference  was  the  discount  at  which  the  bonds 
were  issued  to  the  bankers,  mostly  English,  and 
Egypt  will  never  be  content  without  a reduction. 
They  are  making  a great  fuss  over  the  French 
refusing  to  consent  to  the  conversion  of  the  debt  at 
a lower  rate  of  interest.  Well,  the  French  are 
wrong,  but  it  would  only  be  a saving  of  a hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  we  pay  five  million 
dollars  yearly  in  interest  alone.  The  people  would 
rather  see  Ismail  back  with  bis  harem,  and  his 
favourites,  and  bis  extravagance,  than  this  legalized 
robbery  of  our  cattle  and  lands  to  pay  unjust  taxes, 
for  which  Egypt  has  received  no  benefit.” 

“ But,”  I said,  “ it  is  too  late  now.  These  bonds 
have  passed  into  the  possession  of  innocent  parties. 
Moreover,  Egypt  is  too  weak  to  exist  as  an  inde- 
pendent state,  in  view  of  the  great  European  nations 
that  have  been  formed  in  recent  years.  If  it  is  not 
England  then  it  will  be  France  or  Italy  who  will 
control  you  here,  for  your  six  million  fellaheen  are 
hardly  equal  to  one  of  their  provinces.” 

He  admitted  what  I said,  but  still  they  are  dis- 
satisfied. These  Copts  are  Egyptians  in  heart,  what- 
ever they  may  be  in  religion.  The  Parsees  of  Egypt, 
they  long  for  the  Oriental  master  and  the  careless 
magnificence  of  Mehemet  and  Ismail.  The  careful, 
close,  tax-gathering  English  are  foreign  to  their 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


238 

habits  of  life  and  thought,  yet  I rather  think  that 
the  former  will  give  them  plenty  of  time  to  learn. 

By  the  moonlight  looking  full  down  upon  the 
pebbly  bank,  where  of  old  the  lotus  flowers  blanched 
the  sands  with  their  snowy  petals,  we  descended 
rapidly  and  silently. 

With  no  wind  to  oppose  them,  the  crew  rowed 
steadily  all  day,  and  by  the  next  morning  we  were 
anchored  below  the  palm  trees  that  lined  the  shore 
at  Assiout.  It  was  strange  to  hear  the  whistle  of 
the  locomotive  again,  and  the  rumble  of  the  cars 
reminded  us  that  even  in  Egypt  no  place  was  sacred 
from  the  smoke,  coal-dust,  and  noise  of  nineteenth- 
century  inventions.  Here  we  heard  that  brigandage 
had  increased,  and  that  the  police  were  out  scouring 
the  river  in  boats,  suddenly  invading  by  night  the 
villages  whither  they  had  reason  to  suppose  the 
robbers  had  fled.  There  had  been  a skirmish  a day 
or  two  before  our  arrival  not  many  leagues  from 
Assiout,  and  the  troopers  had  lost  three  killed.  Lady 
Gordon  wrote  of  a state  of  affairs  below  Thebes, 
twenty  years  ago,  that  would  exactly  describe  the 
condition  now.  It  seems  to  be  inevitable,  when  the 
crops  are  bad,  that  many  poor  wretches  take  to 
the  road.  Their  cattle  are  removed  by  the  tax- 
gatherers  and  their  land  is  sold,  leaving  them 
nothing,  for  the  minor  officers,  who  are  all  natives 
here,  are  a soulless,  rascally  lot.  I do  not  see  what 


DOWN  THE  NILE. 


239 


can  be  done,  unless  a comprehensive  expensive  sys- 
tem of  irrigation  is  started.  That  will  give  the 
fellaheen  work  during  its  progress,  and  after  com- 
pletion will  enable  the  land  to  produce  vastly  more, 
and  place  it  on  an  equality  with  the  Delta.  Money 
will  have  to  be  borrowed  for  this  purpose,  however, 
and  I believe  that  no  new  loan  can  be  contracted 
without  the  consent  of  the  Powers,  including  the 
French  Government.  What  the  French  would  do 
is  not  doubtful.  They  would  simply  refuse,  unless 
the  English  made  some  concession  of  a character 
impossible  for  the  latter  to  grant. 

Below  Assiout  we  met  Mr.  Wilbur,  an  old  white- 
haired  American,  who  spends  his  summers  in  Paris 
and  his  winters  on  the  Nile.  He  was  accompanied 
by  his  family,  and  travelled  in  bis  own  dahabeeyeh. 
This  was  his  ninth  annual  voyage,  and  he  was  con- 
sidered at  Cairo  a fairly  good  Egyptologist.  He 
could  read  the  hieroglyphics,  and  spoke  Arabic  well. 
But  all  his  learning  in  Egyptian  lore  had  not  taught 
Wilbur  to  avoid  a Nile  sand-bank. 

Just  before  we  met  them,  they  had  been  stuck  for 
three  days  in  the  mud,  near  the  bank  of  the  river, 
and,  after  ineffectual  attempts  to  get  off,  were  forced 
to  send  a messenger  on  foot  to  Assiout,  for  a steamer 
to  pull  them  out  into  the  stream.  We  breakfasted  on 
their  vessel,  and  it  looked  to  me  as  if  there  were  not 
enough  men  to  man  the  boat,  or  else  the  boat  was 


240 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


too  large  for  tire  crew.  They  did  not  expect  to  be 
back  for  four  months,  and  as  both  vessels  displayed 
the  American  flag  in  parting,  Suleyman  suddenly 
discharged  a battery  of  his  own  blunderbuss  and  my 
shot  gun  and  revolver,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the 
consul,  who  had  a horror  of  firearms.  Suleyman 
was  well  scolded,  and  promised  never  to  do  so  again 
without  first  asking  permission ; but  the  very  next 
day  a passing  boat,  carrying  aloft  the  American  flag, 
made  him  forget  his  promise.  He  was  like  a boy  in 
his  love  for  firing  and  hearing  the  noise  of  guns,  and 
he  had  some  kind  of  an  indefinite  idea  that  it  was 
unpatriotic  to  let  an  American  flag  wave  on  the 
Nile,  without  having  a miniature  Fourth  of  July  at 
once.  I don’t  know  what  Schuyler  would  have 
done  to  him,  if  the  voyage  had  been  prolonged  ; but, 
luckily  for  Suleyman,  our  good  boat  and  boatmen 
had  carried  us  forward  day  and  night,  until  one 
morning,  at  sunrise,  Hassan  woke  me  to  say  that 
the  minarets  of  the  citadel  mosque  were  in  view,  and 
the  same  evening  we  anchored  below  Old  Cairo. 


( 24I  ) 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

OLD  AND  NEW. 

On  my  arrival  at  Cairo,  I went  to  Shepheard’s  Hotel. 
The  lease  of  my  house  had  expired,  and  for  the  few 
days  that  I still  intended  to  stay  in  Egypt,  it  was 
hardly  worth  while  to  take  another. 

The  hotel  was  full  of  people,  as  were  the  New 
Hotel,  the  Hotel  Continental,  and  the  Villa  Victoria, 
all  creations  of  the  last  two  or  three  years.  The 
visitors  had  swarmed  in  like  locusts  during  our 
absence  in  Upper  Egypt,  and  it  was  estimated  that 
there  were  seven  or  eight  hundred  tourists  in  the 
city,  of  whom  perhaps  two-thirds  were  Americans. 
The  influenza  was  one  cause  of  the  multitude  of 
strangers,  for  people  had  run  away  from  Europe  to 
Africa  in  the  hope  of  escaping,  as  it  existed,  if  at 
all  in  Egypt,  only  in  a very  mild  type. 

Favoured  by  my  Cairene  knowledge,  I soon  found 
private  rooms  but  boarded  at  Shepheard’s.  Thus  I 
could  contemplate  with  complacency  the  misfortunes 
of  those  who  had  to  sleep  in  the  hall  ways  and  bath- 

R 


242 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


rooms.  The  weather  was  rather  cold,  but  sunny, 
and  every  day  people  were  going  out  in  parties  to 
the  Pyramids,  the  mosques,  Heliopolis,  and  other 
places  near  to  Cairo. 

The  town  was  a miniature  London  in  the  season, 
and  dinners,  balls,  and  receptions  were  of  daily 
occurrence.  The  Khedive  gave  a dinner  every  five 
or  six  days  at  least,  and  a ball  at  the  Abdin  Palace 
each  fortnight.  The  English  officials  were  doing 
the  same.  One  of  the  English  regiments  had  allotted 
to  them  as  quarters  an  old  palace  near  the  river. 
The  large  reception  chamber  on  the  ground  floor, 
with  its  massive  chandeliers  of  silver  and  glass,  its 
painted  wainscotings  and  high  ceiling,  and  the 
barbaric  magnificence  of  the  gold  decorations  that 
supported  the  old  Arabian  tapestries,  made  a beauti- 
ful ballroom.  Two  or  three  of  the  adjacent  rooms, 
which  were  separated  only  b y portieres,  were  thrown 
together,  and  from  this  improvised  banquet-hall  a 
few  yards  under  the  acacias  led  to  the  bank  of  the 
silent,  swift-flowing  Nile. 

Of  course,  travellers  coming  from  all  parts  of  the 
world,  and  meeting  in  an  African  city,  were  for  the 
most  part  strangers  to  each  other,  and  it  took  some 
little  time  before  acquaintance  was  made.  Especially 
was  this  the  case  with  the  Americans,  for  the  Eng- 
lish tourists  either  had  friends  in  Cairo,  or  were 
more  or  less  provided  with  letters  of  introduction. 


OLD  AND  NEW. 


243 


But  the  permanent  official  English  residents,  and 
they  are  numerous,  were  very  kind,  and  an  invitation 
to  their  entertainments  was  readily  accorded  to  the 
visitor  who  became  known  to  them.  Some  of  my 
countrywomen,  however,  had  not  waited  for  this 
chance.  Here  is  a letter  that  one  of  them  sent — 

“ Paris,  August  — , 1889. 

“ Mr.  Eugene  Schuyler,  Cairo. 

“ Sir, 

“ I believe  that  you  have  been  appointed 
U.S.  Minister  to  Egypt.  I understand  that  the 
Khedive  will  give  a grand  ball  on  January  21,  1890, 
in  the  palace.  Well,  I will  be  there  for  a little  visit 
before  that  day,  and  I wish  you  would  get  me  a ticket 
to  the  ball. 

“ Yours  truly, 

<1 ” 


That  is  what  I call  amusing.  That  was  all. 
There  was  no  Paris  address  to  which  to  reply,  no 
recommendation  from  some  friend,  no  farther  ex- 
planation ; nothing  to  know  who  or  what  she  was,  or 
to  distinguish  her  from  a sack  of  flour.  Apparently 
in  her  opinion  the  American  representative  in  a 
foreign  country  was  only  a clerk  or  lackey  to  run  on 
errands  for  any  persons  who  asked  him.  One  can 
readily  see  that  she  had  never  been  away  from  home 
before,  and  undoubtedly  entertained  an  exalted 
opinion  of  her  own  importance. 

She  was  in  Cairo  when  we  returned,  but  as  the 


244 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


ball  bad  been  given  while  the  consul-general  was 
absent,  no  lamentable  consequences  ensued  from  her 
inability  to  attend.  I would  not  be  an  American 
consul  for  a good  deal.  It  is  a most  disagreeable 
position.  The  salary  is  always  small,  usually  about 
one-half  that  paid  to  their  colleagues  of  the  Great 
Powers.  Yet  the  American  must  live  in  something- 
like  the  social  condition  of  his  associates,  especially 
in  the  East.  He  cannot  very  well  live  and  sleep 
in  one  or  two  rooms,  and  he  must  entertain  a 
little,  whatever  he  may  wish.  When  he  is  in- 
vited to  dinner  by  the  consul  of  another  nation,  he 
has  necessarily  to  return  the  courtesy,  and  surely 
he  wants  to  give  at  least  as  good  a dinner  as 
he  gets. 

It  is  all  very  well  to  think  of  republican  simplicit}7, 
but  in  the  Orient  they  only  know  a nation  by  what 
they  see.  If  a consul  is  careful  and  economical,  they 
believe  he  is  mean  and  close,  and  his  influence  de- 
creases. They  see  numbers  of  Americans  come  to 
their  country  and  spend  money  freely.  They  have 
a vague  idea  that  the  United  States  is  immensely 
great  and  wealthy,  and  that  its  representative  is 
allowed  a big  salary.  If  he  tries  to  live  within  what 
he  really  is  paid,  they  blame  him  and  not  the 
country ; so,  for  very  shame’s  sake,  he  is  forced  to 
expend  more  than,  in  some  cases,  he  can  afford. 

I doubt  if  any  one  of  our  consuls  east  of  Vienna 


OLD  AND  NEW. 


245 


and  Rome  manages  to  live  within  his  official  income. 
He  must  have  private  resources  of  his  own,  or  run 
in  debt.  It  is  unworthy  of  a great  nation.  After  a 
somewhat  long  experience  in  Eastern  lands,  it  seems 
to  me  that  either  some  of  the  positions  ought  to  be 
abolished  or  the  salaries  increased.  Then  the  consul 
has  other  troubles.  Travellers  go  to  him  and  demand 
assistance  for  almost  every  conceivable  purpose. 
They  want  to  be  identified  at  the  bank.  They  have 
brought  no  introduction,  no  one  knows  them,  yet 
they  expect  the  consul  to  endorse  their  draft.  The 
banks  will  pay  on  a consul’s  endorsement,  for  of 
course  he  then  becomes  personally  responsible.  If 
he  refuses,  he  is  abused ; and  if  he  does  not,  he  runs 
the  chance  of  having  to  pay  himself,  though  I have 
never  known  an  instance  where  an  American  has 
deceived  his  consul  in  this  way.  But  they  want 
tickets  to  dinners,  balls,  entertainments,  and  reviews  ; 
private  interviews  with  leading  personages ; and 
special  admission  to  mosques  on  days  when  they 
are  closed  to  the  stranger. 

I remember  that  once,  in  Constantinople,  a lady 
called  on  the  American  consul  and  stated  that,  as 
she  had  but  two  or  three  days  to  remain  there,  she 
would  be  obliged  if  he  would  get  her  admission  to 
some  pasha’s  harem  immediately,  for  she  wanted  to 
see  what  they  were  like  ! One  would  suppose  that 
she  thought  the  pashas  kept  their  wives  on  exhibi- 


246 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


tion  like  prize  oxen  at  a county  fair  ! The  poor 
man  has  to  run  around  trying  to  do  what  he  can  to 
favour  his  countrymen,  and  for  his  reward  is  soundly 
abused  at  home  as  having  nothing  to  do,  and  is 
annually  threatened  in  Congress  with  a reduction  of 
salary  or  abolition  of  his  office. 

We  were,  not  long  ago,  actually  unrepresented  at 
Athens  for  two  years,  though  the  office  was  subse- 
quently filled. 

It  is  a question  whether  those  who  go  to  Egypt 
for  only  two  or  three  weeks  and  live  in  hotels  ever 
see  the  real  Oriental  life  or  character.  They  meet 
too  many  of  their  own  race  and  language,  and  not 
enough  of  the  natives.  In  the  hotels  they  live  just 
as  they  do  in  Europe  or  America,  and  the  Egyptian 
ways  must  be  to  them  no  more  than  an  Oriental 
drop  scene  in  a theatre  of  modern  manners.  It 
is  impossible  to  acquire  a good  knowledge  of  the 
Cairo  people  unless  one  has  a house  among  them, 
with  native  servants  and  away  from  the  caravan- 
saries. 

It  is  true  that  the  Pyramids  and  Sphinx  can  be 
visited,  the  mosques  inspected,  and  the  museum 
looked  over ; but  all  these  are  of  the  past,  and  there 
is  much  to  see  in  the  present. 

The  charm  of  Eastern  life  is  only  found  among 
the  people  and  in  living  like  the  people,  and  that 
cannot  be  done  in  a hasty,  flying  visit.  Their  do- 


OLD  AND  NEW. 


247 


cility  and  gentleness,  their  ignorance  and  dirt,  their 
good  humour  and  childishness  combined,  are  delight- 
ful to  recall  in  other  lands,  among  other  people  and 
under  different  skies. 

A few  months’  residence  there  is  as  fascinating  as 
a hashish  dream.  The  country  grows  on  one.  Men 
who  have  lived  long  in  Africa  stay  there  even  after 
their  labours  are  done.  Schweinfurth  the  explorer, 
in  his  own  little  house,  has  dwelt  at  Cairo  for  years  ; 
Emin  Pasha  said  that  if  he  did  not  go  back  to 
Central  Africa,  he  would  live  hereafter  in  Egypt ; 
and  even  Stanley  is  said  to  look  forward  to  return- 
ing again  to  the  scene  of  his  fame. 

What  a marvellous  man  is  Stanley ! He  came 
out  of  his  three  years’  tramp  through  the  forests 
and  fevers  of  Africa  with  cheeks  rosy  as  an 
English  lass  and  eyes  clear  and  bright  as  an 
Egyptian  star.  His  hair  and  moustache  are  ivory 
white,  while  his  figure  and  form  are  so  robust  and 
erect  that  one  hardly  notices  that  he  is  scarcely 
of  an  average  height.  He  speaks  slowly,  care- 
fully, and  distinctly,  with  his  eyes  full  on  the  face 
of  the  person  with  whom  he  is  conversing.  He  is 
somewhat  reserved  and  reticent,  almost  embarrassed 
at  first,  but  after  a glass  of  wine,  which  he  seems 
to  like,  becomes  affable  and  pleasant.  But  he 
appears  to  have  an  ever-present  consciousness  of  the 
perils  and  privations  that  he  has  endured,  and  the 


248 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


recollection  has  given  a sternness  and  gravity  to  his 
countenance  that  command  attention. 

It  is  odd  that  Africa  should  include  in  its 
boundaries  the  oldest  and  the  newest  countries, 
Egypt  and  the  Congo.  It  is  more  curious  still  to 
think  that  perhaps  this  very  Central  Africa,  which 
was  probably  comparatively  well  known  thousands 
of  years  ago,  has  remained  an  unexplored  land  until 
the  present  era.  Mr.  Stanley  told  me  that,  from 
maps  and  documents  in  his  possession,  he  believed 
that  the  sources  of  the  Nile  were  known  not  much 
later  than  the  time  of  Homer,  and  that  they  were 
correctly  known  then,  for  these  documents  corre- 
spond exactly  with  the  discoveries  of  modern  ex- 
plorers. If  that  be  so,  the  knowledge  was  entirely 
lost  at  a later  period,  and  it  remained  for  him  and 
others  to  again  give  to  the  world  this  former 
appanage  of  the  Pharaohs.  It  was  old ; it  is  now 
new,  this  Africa,  and  Rameses  and  Stanley  both 
at  Cairo,  typify  the  oldest  and  the  newest  civiliza- 
tions that  have  been  and  are  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth. 

The  English  have  it  in  contemplation  to  open  the 
Nile  between  Cairo  and  Khartoum,  and  to  extend 
the  railway  along  the  stream.  It  may  not  be  done 
at  once,  but  it  will  be  done,  and  without  any  very 
great  delay.  For  Stanley’s  expeditions  have  opened 
to  the  world  lands  larger  in  extent  than  half  of 


OLD  AND  NEW. 


249 


Europe — mountains  and  rivers,  hills  and  dales, 
covered  with  primaeval  forests,  and  capable  of  pro- 
ducing all  the  fruits  of  the  earth.  It  possesses  an 
agreeable  climate,  and  will  be  fairly  healthy  when 
the  axe  has  cleared  the  forests  and  the  plough  has 
prepared  the  soil  for  the  seed.  Through  Egypt,  by 
Khartoum  and  the  Nile,  must  come  the  gifts  of  this 
new  world,  for  Egypt  is  nearest  to  Europe,  and  the 
river  never  fails.  We  of  the  West  may  regret  this, 
for  we  love  to  think  of  the  land  of  the  Pharaohs  as 
always  resting,  bathed  in  the  brightness  of  the  ever- 
lasting sun.  We  shall  hardly  desire  to  see  steam- 
boats, railways,  and  telegraphs  where  the  crocodile 
slept  and  the  lotus  washed  its  pure  petals  in  the 
flowing  Nile.  We  do  not  want  to  see  the  winds  of 
this  nineteenth  century  after  Christ  disturb  the  still 
dust  of  the  nineteenth  century  before  Him.  We 
have  no  monuments  of  the  Past  in  our  home. 
We  have  no  temples,  pyramids,  nor  sphinxes. 

Our  history  and  our  memories  are  of  yesterday. 
We  are  young,  strong,  ambitious,  with  all  the 
Future  before  us ; yet  we  have,  as  a nation,  no  Past 
to  make  us  pause  and  reflect.  This  is  why  we 
revere  what  we  have  not ; and  we  would  cherish 
and  protect  those  relics  of  antiquity  on  the  banks 
of  old  serpent  Nile  that  Time  has  not  yet  effaced. 
Egypt  is  to  us  an  anodyne  and  the  very  paradise 
of  a hashish  dreamer.  We  forget  the  struggles, 


s 


250 


EGYPTIAN  SKETCHES. 


anxieties,  fears  of  our  day  in  this  strange,  quiet 
land,  where  we  are  as  those  who  sleep  or  dream 
half  awake.  And  when  at  last  we  are  forced  to 
leave  it,  we  depart,  hoping  that  once  again  we  may 
drink  of  the  waters  of  the  mysterious  river,  and 

live  in  the  light  of  the  god  Ammon-Ra,  who,  is 

/ 

bountiful  as  ever  to  his  land  of  Egypt. 


THE  END. 


LONDON  : PRINTED  BT  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,  LIMITED, 
STAMFORD  STREET  AND  CHARING  CROSS. 


